


Promise of the Rose

by Akira_of_the_Twilight



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Beauty and the Beast, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Beauty and the Beast Elements, Canonical Character Death, Curses, Identity Porn, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, M/M, Modern Setting, Protective Rhodey, Protective Steve Rogers, Rhodey Is a Good Bro, Witch Wanda Maximoff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-20
Updated: 2016-10-13
Packaged: 2018-08-09 23:19:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 29,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7821199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akira_of_the_Twilight/pseuds/Akira_of_the_Twilight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Hey, I am nothing like Howard.”</p>
<p>“Do you dislike that others judge you so quickly?" Wanda asked. "That their perceptions of you stem from little basis or falsehoods?”</p>
<p>The lights in the room flickered and thunder boomed outside as the music was cut off.</p>
<p>Red light engulfed Wanda’s form. She thrust her hand out at Tony, striking him with the red energy surrounding her.</p>
<p>Tony gasped as the air was sapped out of his lungs.</p>
<p>“Tony Stark, since you choose to live in ignorance and perceive only falsehoods, so shall everyone in regards to you.”</p>
<p>Tony’s side burned, and he fell to his knees.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [helloshellhead](https://archiveofourown.org/users/helloshellhead/gifts), [MassiveSpaceWren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MassiveSpaceWren/gifts), [FISHNONES](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FISHNONES/gifts).
  * Translation into Русский available: [Предсказанное розой](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15030887) by [Leshaya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leshaya/pseuds/Leshaya)



> Story inspired by hello-shellhead's art [here](http://hello-shellhead.tumblr.com/post/145722556011/ill-never-stop-drawing-tony-with-tattoos).

Tony tried to ignore the whispers behind as his back as he moved from one group of socialites to the next, but the murmurs were screaming accusations in his ears.

His ex-boyfriend Tiberius had run a smear campaign against him. He’d claimed that Tony had cheated on him and that was why they had broken up a week ago. The real reason was because Tony had realized that after two years of dating Tiberius that he’d put up with so many belittling comments and overall nastiness because he’d been trying to prove to himself that Howard had been wrong about their relationship.

The moment Tony had confided in his father that he was dating Tiberius, Howard had sneered and said that Tony was making the worst mistake of his life, and that their relationship would end in a few months.

Tony had been adamant that Howard was wrong, so he’d ignored every tumultuous argument and excused every insult Tiberius had ever thrown at him.

Now that Howard had passed and Tony had a company to run—thousands of lives depended on him—Tony couldn’t ignore what he’d always known in the back of his mind: Tiberius was an abusive asshole.

Not that anyone but Tony and his best friend Rhodey knew that.

So of course everyone was buying into the latest story in the gossip rags.

He’d just hoped his peers who were familiar with lies spread by the media wouldn’t gobble down the information so thoroughly.

His hope had been misplaced.

A large hand clapped Tony on the shoulder. “Smile, my boy.” Obadiah Stane, the man who was like a second father to Tony, squeezed Tony’s shoulder comfortingly. “Always smile. The moment they see you sad is the moment the media and all those who want to see you fail win. Don’t let them.”

The words of encouragement lifted a weight off Tony’s chest. At least he’d always have Obie. “Thanks. I thought I knew what it was like to be in the spotlight, but since Howard died, I’ve realized, I’ve really only been standing in a corner of it.”

Obadiah nodded sympathetically. “Your father knew how to garner everyone’s attention. Now that you’re the new face of the company it only makes sense that everyone’s focus turns to you. Give it some time though, and I am sure this will all die down.”

Tony huffed. “The media attention or Tiberius’ nasty rumor?”

Obadiah smiled, his eyes glimmering with mirth. “Both. Your father didn’t like Tiberius because although Tiberius may have been book smart; socially, he was always inept. Eventually Tiberius will fumble and everyone will remember that he has a terrible habit of lying.”

Obadiah was right. Tiberius had often been caught lying before. This was just a story to entertain everyone until a bigger and better story came along.

“Now, there are some people I want you to meet over here.” Obadiah guided Tony over to a new group of people. Tony recognized them from previous Stark Industries events, but hadn’t spoken to many of them. After ten minutes of cordial talking, Tony excused himself and went to the bar to get himself a drink.

Tony lounged against the bar as he waited for his drink to be made.

“You are quite the intriguing man, Mr. Stark,” a feminine voice with a thick accent said.

Tony startled and turned.

A young woman dressed in a red gown that draped her beautifully and showed off all of her curves smiled at him as she sipped her martini. She set the drink down, and her gold bangles clinked against the glass. Her brown curls were pulled back into a fancy ponytail that left a few perfectly placed curls framing her face.

Tony’s brain shouted at him to say something, but he was too stunned by the young woman’s beauty. The only other woman who had enraptured him so had been Sunset Bain.

The woman tilted her head, keeping her expression pleasant while still conveying curiosity.

“I’m sorry.” Tony reached out his hand in greeting. “Have we met before?”

“No, but I am very acquainted with you and your father’s work, Mr. Stark. My name is Wanda.” She took his hand and shook.

“Wanda,” Tony repeated, liking the sound of her name. “Well, let me just say, you are the most beautiful woman here, and I am honored that you decided to speak to an asshole like me.”

“You should be,” Wanda teased and took another sip of her martini.

Tony’s heart skipped a beat. He liked this woman already. “So how are you acquainted with my work, and please call me, ‘Tony.’ My father was Mr. Stark.”

Wanda stood up and slipped her arm through Tony’s. “How about we enjoy a moment on the dance floor first, Tony?”

Just then the bartender arrived with Tony’s drink.

Tony grabbed the beverage and took a sip then pushed the drink back to the bar. “Whatever you want, milady. Tonight, I am but a humble servant.”

The corner of Wanda’s mouth lifted in amusement. She pulled Tony onto the dance floor.

Tony fumbled with where to put his hands. Was Wanda more of a casual dancer or would she expect him to know the waltz? She looked like the kind of person who would want to waltz or do something other than just hold each other and sway.

Tony’s nerves acted up at just the thought.

He’d learned a few formal dances when he was a kid, but he’d never been the best. He just never mastered the graceful and fluid movements of dancers. He could memorize their steps, but he just didn’t perform with the same ease as them.

He was delighted when Wanda wrapped her arms around his neck and just swayed with him.

He rested his hands on her hips and swayed to the rhythm of the music.

“I should be honest with you, Tony, there is a reason I came here tonight.”

“Not surprising. Most people don’t come to these things without some reason. It’s just a question of whether you came for business or pleasure.”

“Business, but I hope for it to become pleasure.”

Tony’s brain stalled. Had the innuendo been intentional, or was he just imagining it? There hadn’t been any extra emphasis on the sentence or anything.

“Now that you are in charge of Stark Industries, what do you hope to do with it?” Wanda asked.

Tony shrugged. “Run it. Make it more successful than it ever was.”

“Will you continue the weapons development programs?”

“Of course.” Tony couldn’t believe anyone would ask that. “If we aren’t dealing with one international threat then we are dealing with another. We need our guys to have the best equipment possible in order for them to be safe and so they can get home faster.”

“And what about the people who are harmed by those soldiers? By your weapons?”

Tony paused their dance and took in Wanda’s expression, but he couldn’t read it. “We’re only aiming our weapons at the bad guys, so what does it matter?”

Wanda removed her hands from Tony’s and slipped out from his hold. “That is unfortunate.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I had hoped that you would be different than your father, but I see I was wrong.”

Offense rushed through Tony. “Hey, I am nothing like Howard.”

“Do you dislike that others judge you so quickly? That their perceptions of you stem from little basis or falsehoods?”

The lights in the room flickered and thunder boomed outside as the music was cut off.

Everyone began to murmur and look about for the source of the disturbance.

Red light engulfed Wanda’s form.

Tony yelped and jumped back.

Wanda thrust her hand out at Tony, striking him with the red energy surrounding her.

Tony gasped as the air was sapped out of his lungs.

“Tony Stark, since you choose to live in ignorance and perceive only falsehoods, so shall everyone in regards to you.”

Tony’s side burned, and he fell to his knees. A wind kicked up and lifted his button down shirt. Green ink spread across his ribs. Stems and thorns curled along his side and bloomed into crimson roses.

“Each rose marks a year, and each petal a day. If you find someone who can see beyond what is believed and see who is the real you before the last petal falls, this curse shall be broken. However, should you find no one, you will become the monster that all perceive you to be.”

Tears of pain had filled Tony’s eyes and he clutched at his chest as the wind grew stronger, transforming into a storm.

Suddenly the wind stopped and Tony collapsed on the floor.

The lights had stopped flickering, the music was playing, and everyone was talking jovially.

Or at least they had been.

“What happened to him?”

“Is he on drugs?”

“A cheater and a drug addict? Howard must be so proud.”

Tony blinked and shook his head. He looked around the room. Everyone was staring at him like he’d gone bonkers. “Why are you looking at me like that? Didn’t all of you just see that?” Tony asked. “Some crazy chick just came in here and—”

Tony threw up.

Suddenly, Obadiah was there and helping him to stand. “Come along, Tony.”

“But Obie,” Tony said weakly. He wiped at his chin and mouth to get rid of any lingering vomit. His mouth tasted foul.  “You saw—”

Obadiah shushed him and pulled Tony toward the exit. “Don’t give them any more fuel, Tony.”

Tony took another quick look around the room.

No else had seen Wanda, or at least no one had any memory of having seen her. Tony’s stomach churned.

There was no such thing as magic. Curses didn’t exist.

However, Tony knew he hadn’t had any drugs. Unless someone had laced his drink, but who would do that? Who could have done that beyond the bartender, because Tony doubted the bartender would risk his job just to drug Tony.

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

Tony glanced down at himself. He gasped and almost fell to his knees for the second time.

Inked roses from his waist to his neck covered his rib cage.


	2. Chapter 2

Tony ran his hands over his rib cage as he examined himself in the mirror for what felt like the hundredth time in the last three days. He didn’t know what he was hoping to  find; maybe a synthetic skin or to see flakes of ink peel off, but the tattooed roses were real, and they were changing.

When he’d first gotten the tattoo, all of the roses were just budding or fully bloomed. There had been no drifting petals, but in the last three days Tony had watched as one petal per day drifted down his chest. He’d even taken photos to document the change.

Magic wasn’t real, yet he had no scientific explanation for what was happening. At first he thought maybe it was a some new type of ink that responded either to light or body heat, but the petals didn’t follow the same path as they fell, so that couldn’t be the case.

Tony thought about two fictional icons—Sherlock Holmes and Spock—and knew what they would say in this situation.

Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.

The problem was Tony had always believed magic was impossible, so he was having a hard time wrapping his mind around it being real.

Tony took a deep breath and buttoned his shirt.

Okay, so maybe magic was real, but that didn’t mean it was the end of the world. It wasn’t like the laws of physics no longer applied to everything.

Tony was going to have a panic attack.

Tony hurried out of the bathroom, took another deep breath, and shoved down all thoughts of magic and the ramifications of its existence to the deepest and darkest pits of his mind.

He listened to the radio as he continued to get ready for work. He paused in the middle of buttering his toast when he heard his name on the radio.

The radio host had been talking about stories they’d come across in the newspaper, and they had just run across one talking about Tony and Tiberius.

At first Tony was going to ignore it, but then–

“Now this is interesting. Sounds like Tony Stark didn’t just cheat on Tiberius, but he has a bit of a drug problem and tried to get Tiberius to join him.”

Tony’s shoulder blades rammed together. Tony may have tried some pot a few times, but Tiberius was the one who had always been coked out at parties. Hell, there had been some nights when Tony had been scared out of his mind that Ty would overdose, but whenever he’d tried to take Ty to a hospital, Ty had always protested.

Tony reminded himself of what Obie had said, in a few weeks everyone would forget about this mess with Ty. Right now the media was just looking for entertaining stories to write.

As much as Tony told himself that, though, his stomach still churned.

Tony wrapped up his toast and stored it in the fridge; he didn’t feel like eating today.

* * *

“I can’t remember anything, Obie,” Tony whispered in a panic as he yanked his jeans up. He looked over at the bed where three women lay naked and unconscious. He’d woken up squeezed between the three of them in a hotel room he didn’t even remember going to.

“Calm down, Tony,” Obie instructed for the third time in five minutes. “Do you know if any of them are underage?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Tony hissed. A painful lump had formed in his throat. “I don’t know where I am or how I got here. I don’t remember anything!”

Obie shushed him. “Tony, I need you to look for their IDs and make sure none of them are underage. If one of them is we’re going to have to cover this up.”

“You’re thinking of the company at a time like this?” Even as Tony complained, he searched the room for purses and wallets. He found two purses and rummaged through them for IDs.

“I’m thinking about the fact that you could go to jail, Tony, and for a crime that it sounds like you did not willfully commit.”

Tony froze. “Shit.”

“You see my point.”

Tony nodded vigorously and tore through the purses. He sighed in relief when two of the women’s IDs said they were in their twenties. He found the third woman’s wallet and almost had a heart attack. At first he’d thought she was seventeen, but with some quick math, Tony realized she’d turned eighteen just a month ago.

He reported his findings as he headed out of the hotel room.

“Good. Now we just have to hope you used a condom or that all of those women were on birth control.”

Tony winced, not even wanting to think about any further consequences to last night.

* * *

Tony watched the video of him in his foursome in horror.

He was clearly drugged out and drunk.

And no one cared.

Instead everyone was focused on the fact that Tony Stark had a sex tape featuring him and three women.

Tony didn’t know what to think or do.

So he reached for a pen and some paper.

He’d build something. He’d always been good at building things.

* * *

“Rhodey!” Tony exclaimed as he ran through the airport terminal to his best friend who’d just gotten back from being on tour.

Rhodey beamed as he set down his rucksack and held his arms open for Tony to run into. “Tones!”

“Honey bear! Love of my life!” Tony flung his arms around Rhodey’s neck and hugged Rhodey for all he was worth. God, how he’d missed Rhodey. Things had gone to hell and he needed his best friend. Obie was okay in a pinch, but Rhodey was amazing. He understood Tony in a way no other did, and Tony absolutely loved him for it.

Tony pulled out of the hug and picked up Rhodey’s rucksack, grunting as the weight caused him to bend over.

Rhodey chuckled and took the bag from Tony. “So I hear you’ve been having some crazy adventures without me.”

“I’m not sure I would call them adventures.” Tony grabbed Rhodey’s arm and draped it across his shoulder. “More like misadventures.”

Rhodey nodded. “I agree, which is why you need to be more careful, man.”

Tony nodded. He was never taking his eyes off his drink again.

“Really, next time someone asks you if they can video tape you doing the nasty, you need to tell them no. You’re a mini celebrity now, Tony. Something like that is going to come back and bite you in the ass.”

Tony’s insides turned cold and his heart crumpled.

“Tony?” Rhodey inquired.

Tony nodded. “Right, no more taping.” Tony hesitated. “Although, I didn’t agree to it.”

Rhodey’s face pinched. “You didn’t agree?” He scowled. He hugged Tony protectively to his side. “Assholes. They hid a camera on you? You should sue. You’re one of the few people on the planet who has the money and power to do so. Take advantage.”

Rhodey wasn’t getting it.

Tony tried to form words to explain what had happened, but his tongue was thick in his mouth and his throat was clogged.

“Something wrong?” Rhodey asked.

Tony shook his head. He smiled and rested his head on Rhodey’s shoulder. “Just missed my platypus.”

* * *

Tony went wide eyed as the cameras flashed around him and Darryl–Tony thought that was the guy’s name. To be honest, Tony was having a hard time remembering because he was busy getting his mouth violated by the man. They’d been having a pleasant conversation inside the art gallery when Tony had said he wanted to go outside for some air. Darryl had offered to join him. The moment the two of them stepped outside, the paparazzi had been there and Darryl was smothering Tony’s mouth with his lips.

Tony pushed Darryl away and hurried back inside.

He could already see the papers proclaiming him a playboy, or Darryl another one of his victims.

* * *

Tony stopped caring.

It had been three years, he’d lost three roses along his rib cage, and everyone thought he was a playboy no matter what he said or did. So why fight it?

Tony smiled salaciously at the man and woman who were both flirting with him. They clearly wanted something from him and they were offering sex to get it from him.

Tony thought their business proposal was crap, but since there would be a story about him having sex with at least one of them later tonight anyway, he might as well actually have sex. At least this way he’d get an orgasm out of the deal.

* * *

Tony groaned as he lay sprawled out across his couch. “JARVIS,” his voice was a croak. “I think I took something last night that I shouldn’t have.”

“According to my readings, sir, you took many things you shouldn’t have last night,” the AI responded.

Tony smiled dopily at the ceiling. It had taken a long time, but he’d finally perfected JARVIS.

JARVIS was the only one who understood him, but apparently that didn’t count for some witch’s curse.

Tony snorted. Stupid curse.

“Sir, I don’t think you need me to remind you that self-medicating can be dangerous, or how mixing certain drugs with alcohol can have adverse effects.”

Tony waved off JARVIS’ concern. “I’m a doctor, don’t worry about it.”

“That may be true, sir, but your doctorates are not in the medical sciences.”

Tony grumbled and closed his eyes.

“Do you think more people would like me if they were?”

“If what were?”

Tony rolled onto his side and sighed. “Forget it.”

* * *

Rhodey shook his head as he pulled Tony up and off of the floor. “I love to party as much as the next guy, but, Tony, this is seriously getting out of hand.”

Tony squinted and looked around his penthouse floor. He thought he’d only invited a few people up to party, but apparently he hadn’t.

Or maybe he had. He couldn’t remember. He’d ask JARVIS about it later, or maybe his PA. Pepper had been at the Stark Industries event, right? Hadn’t he invited her up too? Maybe she’d joined him and the others?

Tony shook his head. No, Pepper was a classy lady, and she would not degrade herself by partying with the Stark playboy.

“Tony.” Rhodey waved his hand in front of Tony’s face. “You with me?”

“Just put me on the couch.” Tony swayed.

Rhodey did so, but just as he was pushing Tony down, Tony shot up. “Blue prints! I made blue prints to something!” Tony collapsed. “Rhodey, please find them.”

Rhodey sighed and shook his head. “Okay.”

Rhodey went in search of the blue prints.

“Rhodey.” Tony picked at the couch. “Do you love me?”

Rhodey paused in his search. “Do you really need me to say it?”

Tears threatened to form in Tony’s eyes. He took a deep breath and forced them away. “No.”

Maybe Rhodey did love him, but either it wasn’t enough or perhaps he didn’t love the real Tony.

* * *

Tony traced the roses along his rib cage. He was headed over to Afghanistan to show off the Jericho, and he had decided to go to the bathroom just to take his eyes off his computer. He’d been flying for several hours now and working the whole time. He needed a mental break.

Tony counted the roses along his side.

He only had a few more years left until he became the monster everyone thought he was.

But wasn’t he that already?

A playboy. An alcoholic. Maybe not as much of a drug addict as he used to be after that one meeting that ended with Obie tearing him a new hole, but he still had his vices on occasion.

He didn’t need another few years to become the person everyone hated; he was that person.

And maybe he liked it that way.

It didn’t matter that everywhere he turned someone was writing something scathing about him or that he really only had four stable relationships in his life (and he was counting JARVIS).

He was well off and could do anything he wanted.

He was the merchant of death and he liked it.

Really, he did.


	3. Chapter 3

“Good work team,” Steve said over the comms as they apprehended the villain of the week. Natasha had cuffed the man responsible for the small army of robots that had run rampant through the city and she was dragging him toward one of the SHIELD vehicles. **  
**

“All in a day’s work,” Iron Man’s voice came over the comms, and Steve couldn’t help but smile a little. While Iron Man had been one of the teammates he’d originally been a tad apprehensive about (it was hard to get a read on someone when their face was hidden), Iron Man had swiftly become one of his closest companions.

“Hey, tin can, you mind giving me a lift?” Clint asked.

“I thought hawks could fly?” Iron Man zoomed through the air, headed toward the building where Clint had been providing cover during the attack.

“I’m Hawkeye, not a hawk. It’s all about the eyes. My big, beautiful eyes,” Clint joked.

“And such lovely eyes they are.”

“You two better stop flirting before someone gets the wrong idea,” Natasha said.

“Yeah, Steve might get jealous,” Sam teased.

Steve huffed. “Chatter.”

“Have you ever noticed he only says that when he doesn’t like what we’re talking about?” Iron Man asked, his tone light and playful. Iron Man flew to the ground and deposited Clint in front of Steve.

“I wouldn’t talk if I were you, Shellhead. How many times have your comms mysteriously stopped working when you’ve decided to change battle strategies mid-fight?”

Iron Man shrugged. “They work out for the best in the end.”

“Not when you end up crushed under a few tons of debris.”

“Small price to pay for the bigger picture. Now, where is a good robot carcass?” Iron Man scanned the area. “The big boss is going to be disappointed if I don’t bring him back a souvenir.”

Steve pushed down a sigh of disappointment at the mention of Iron Man’s employer. He’d never had the opportunity to meet Tony Stark, but from what he heard, Steve would gamble that he and the billionaire would not get along at all. The man was lecherous, arrogant, and couldn’t say no to the bottle. A supposed partier; although, it seemed since the Stark Expo the man had become a hermit and refused to venture out from his tower.

“Ah-ha!” Iron Man cheered and strolled up to a robot that lay under a car. “This one is mostly intact.” He scooped the robot into his arms and saluted Steve. “Until next battle, mon capitan.”

Steve took a step forward and extended a hand in invitation. “You should stay. Have a celebratory meal with us.”

“No can do, Winghead. I’m only on loan, remember? Gotta take care of the person who pays the bills.” With that, Iron Man shot up into the sky and took off toward Stark tower.

Steve finally let out a sigh of disappointment.

Clint clapped Steve on the shoulder. “It’s okay, Cap. One day he’ll say yes to a date.”

Steve huffed and shrugged off Clint’s hand. “Will you knock it off? I was just inviting a teammate to a group meal.”

“Steve does not handle rejection well,” Sam stated on the comms even as he came in for a landing just a few feet away from Steve.

“He’ll bounce back though,” Natasha added. “He always does.”

Blood rushed to Steve’s face. “You three are children.”

“We just want mommy and daddy to get married already.” Clint snickered.

“You are grounded,” Steve stated.

Clint whined and pleaded for Steve to change his mind.

* * *

“Sounds like we might be getting another member to the team.” Natasha slid into the diner booth.

Steve sat up straighter and scanned the quaint “retro” diner for enemies. He pulled his cup of coffee closer to himself as he reassessed everyone in the room for a hidden spy.

Natasha smiled and touched his hand. “Down boy, I’m just here because I thought you might be interested in some information.” She slipped her handbag off her shoulder and fished through it.

“Sorry, I’m not used to seeing you here. You also have the tendency of bringing bad news.”

Natasha quirked an eyebrow as she dropped the a folder on the table. “Letting you know that a few government guys were tailing you was bad news? I would have thought you’d appreciate knowing just what an asset you are to this country. No one wants to see Captain America broken and beaten up.”

The corner of Steve’s mouth quirked up as he pulled the folder closer and opened it. “I don’t think they were their for protection.”

“Well, certainly not yours.”

Steve frowned as he read over the file she’d given him. “They want to add War Machine to the team?”

“That surprising?” Natasha’s eyes took on a shimmer they got when she was obtaining information. While she was very good at hiding the tell when she was on a mission, when she was among friends she rarely hid the way her eyes lit up.

Steve shook his head. “More fire power is good, and James Rhodes certainly is…” Steve flipped through the papers on Rhodes, skimming them. “…qualified. I’m just little concerned about a man who would steal from his best friend.”

“You weren’t around Tony Stark then.” Natasha reached across the table and stole a french fry off of Steve’s plate. “Arrogant, selfish, narcissistic, self-destructive, and those are only a handful of adjectives I’d use. The night James Rhodes stole the War Machine armor Tony Stark put the lives of all his house guests in danger with his use of his own technology.” Natasha popped the fry in her mouth and swallowed. “I pity Iron Man for having had to fight Rhodes that night. Based on Iron Man’s personality, he would not have been the type to enjoy it, but since Rhodes was stealing and Tony is his employer…” Natasha trailed off, letting Steve fill in the blanks.

Steve’s heart twisted. He squeezed his cup and stared into his coffee.

He wanted to do something about Tony Stark, but he didn’t know what. They man sounded terrible, and Iron Man didn’t deserve to be bullied around by someone like Tony. Iron Man was a hero; he should be allowed to pick which battles he wanted to fight, and he certainly shouldn’t be chained to the likes of Tony.

A sad smile crossed Natasha’s features. “You’re thinking about Iron Man again.”

“Unless you’ve become a mind reader, Romanoff, I don’t believe you can prove that.”

Natasha smiled. She stretched across the booth and touched Steve between his brows. “You get two wrinkles here whenever you think about Iron Man.” She slipped back down into her seat. “Specifically when you think about him and his relationship with Tony.”

There really was no sense in hiding anything from Natasha. Steve took a sip of his coffee then released a frustrated breath. “I worry about him. He always puts others before himself, and I worry that when it comes to Tony Stark, he lets Tony take advantage too much.”

“Steve, not even SHIELD knows anything beyond Iron Man except that he works for Tony. Perhaps Tony provides him plenty for his services.” Natasha frowned in puzzlement. “All employees receive hefty benefits, and other than a few standard gripes between employees, everyone is expresses a genuinely positive attitude in regards to working for Stark Industries.”

Something was off with Natasha’s tone. “You sound unsure,” Steve commented.

Natasha shook her head. “It’s nothing. Just a stray thought.”

Steve looked down at the SHIELD file again and closed it. “Tony Stark aside, War Machine and Iron Man are very similar, and while we need more fire power after SHIELD’s fall, I would think we’d be targeting recruits who bring something different to the table.”

“Are you saying that because you believe it, or because you’re worried that Fury is trying to distance the Avengers from Tony Stark and is doing that by replacing Iron Man with War Machine?”

The tips of Steve’s ears heated. He kept a straight face. “The more diversity in our skills the more situations we will be able to handle. That being said, I’ll be happy to welcome War Machine to the team if he is the best candidate.”

Natasha smiled coyly. “And you are not being protective of Iron Man at all.”

“Of course not.”

* * *

“Iron Man!” Steve shouted as his teammate was knocked into the Hudson River by an overgrown squid that some idiot had thought was a brilliant advancement in science but was really just a terror.

Static came over the comms.

Steve’s heart plummeted even as he flung his shield to knock back one of the tentacles coming for him.

“Oh god!” Iron Man’s voice finally came through. “I feel like I’m in one of those anime porns. So many tentacles. Can I please get some back up down here before–Ah! You do not belong there!”

“I gotcha,” Rhodes responded. War Machine dove into the water.

Steve jumped out the way of a large tentacle that had been about to crush him. He clutched his comm. “Romanoff. Barton. Please tell me you two are making headway with the nets.”

“We’re coordinating our movements and flying as fast as we can,” Clint said.

“Estimated arrival in two minutes,” Natasha stated.

The squid swung it’s tentacle low and knocked Steve to the ground. Steve groaned, raised his legs, then threw his weight forward so he was on his feet again. “Starting to really miss Thor and Hulk.”

Sam rained down a series of attacks on the squid. “Hey, you got me.”

War Machine burst out from the water carrying Iron Man. “Iron Man down. I’m taking him to a safe location.”

“Iron Man not down!” Iron Man argued as his thrusters sputtered but failed to work. “Iron Man battered, but–” Iron Man coughed “–but good to fight.”

“Yeah, say that to the pieces of your suit that are crushed. Is that blood?!” Rhodes asked in horror.

“It’s just some oil and other fluids used in the suit.”

“War Machine, get Iron Man to safety.”

Iron Man protested, but Steve ignored it. He could see Natasha, Clint, and a handful of Shield agents piloting a cluster of helicopters that held the largest net Steve had ever seen.

“Give them room, Falcon,” Steve said and dashed away from the river.

In moments the net dropped onto the squid.

The squid flailed as it tried to free itself.

“All civilians are cleared,” Natasha said.

“Alright, then time to make calamari,” Clint responded.

Electricity sparked along the net. The squid thrashed and tried to dive deeper into the river as it was shocked.

Slowly, the squid collapsed atop the river.

“Are we picking up any signs of life?” Steve asked.

“Looks like it, but it’s not moving,” Clint said. There was a pause. “Sounds like there is a debate about bringing the squid in for testing, but no one knows where to put it.”

Steve hooked his shield onto his back. “How about in the ocean? Ideally somewhere deep.”

Clint snorted in amusement. “Can’t say I disagree.”

“Looks like someone has made up their mind,” Natasha interrupted. “Alright, boys, follow formation. Our new friend is going to get a tour of the Hudson.”

The helicopters dragged the squid through the Hudson at a snail’s pace.

Steve followed along the river’s side. He frowned when he saw only Flacon and Iron Man in the air. He internally winced at the damage to Iron Man’s armor; his side looked especially damaged. “Rhodes, where are you and why is Iron Man still in flight?”

There was no sound.

“Rhodes?”

“I swear to god, JARVIS, tell Iron Man or Tony or whoever the hell gave you the authority to sabotage my suit that I will kick their ass. I will kick their ass so hard–”

“Colonel Rhodes, I should inform you that I have restored communication channels and Captain Steve Rogers is currently listening to you.” Steve startled at JARVIS’ voice. He’d only heard the AI’s voice a few times, and it was never under good circumstances.

Rhodes cursed.

“Rhodes, what happened?” Worry churned in Steve’s gut.

“Iron Man got his thrusters to work and bolted out of here. When I tried to stop him he initiated some program that overrode the control of my suit. I’m grounded.”

“Only temporarily,” Iron Man’s voice came over the comms.

“Iron Man.” Steve could hear the sneer in Rhodes’ voice. “You son of a bitch.”

“Listen, I didn’t want to be grounded either, but you insisted. Honestly, this is your own fault. If you had just–”

“You’re bleeding out your side. Your suit is crushed inwards so much it’s stabbing you. The only reason you didn’t drown to death is because Tony must have created an isolated air filtration system in the helmet.”

“Not quite, but close,” Iron Man quipped.

“You shouldn’t be flying!” Rhodes shouted.

“I agree with Rhodes,” Steve said. “Iron Man, I am ordering you to seek medical attention.”

“Not until we’ve finished escorting tentacles here.”

“Iron Man, I refuse to let you die on my watch. Return War Machine the full functionality of his suit, and seek medical treatment. Now.”

There was silence on Iron Man’s end.

Steve sucked in a sharp breath. He didn’t know what he’d do if Iron Man disobeyed. Iron Man wasn’t like the rest of the Avengers. As Iron Man himself liked to point out, he was a freelance Avenger–one on loan. There wasn’t much Steve could do if Iron Man refused to listen to him.

“Fine. Just don’t come crying to me if tentacles gets loose and we’re all victims of an anime orgy.” Iron Man arced through the air and flew off toward the city.

“Medical, please, Iron Man,” Steve pleaded as his mind forced him to relive watching his best friend Bucky fall from a train. He’d felt so powerless then, and he felt so powerless now.

Iron Man didn’t answer.

* * *

Steve paced his room in SHIELD as he listened to the dial tone on the other end of his cell phone.

“Captain Rogers,” JARVIS answered.

Steve startled, once again not expecting the AI. “JARVIS.”

“It appears you have been harassing the administrative assistants for the last hour, and I have been asked to step in.”

Heat filled Steve’s cheeks. He hadn’t been calling Stark Industries that much. “I’d like to speak to Iron Man.”

“I’m sorry, Captain, but Iron Man is still indisposed at the moment. I can take a message.”

“Is he okay?”

“That is confidential information.”

Frustration burned through Steve’s gut. He’d heard all the same lines before. “He was injured, and as his team captain I have the right–”

“I’m sorry, Captain, but I must point out that you have no right or authority over Iron Man and/or his personal information. He is an employee of Stark Industries whom Anthony Stark graciously allows to aid you and your team. Unless you would like to leave a message then I will be forced to end this conversation now.”

Steve hesitated to respond. He considered his options. “Tell Iron Man I hope he is feeling better.”

“Will do, Captain. Have a splendid day.”

JARVIS hung up.

Steve hung up his phone too and shoved it into his pocket. He picked up his jacket off his chair and put it on. If he couldn’t talk to Iron Man on the phone, then he’d do it in person.

* * *

Steve was surprised to say the least.

He’d a arrived at Stark Tower and had expected to be greeted by a security team shortly thereafter, but no one approached him. At most he received a few curious glances from employees who recognized him.

He’d marched to the elevator and had been prepared to hear JARVIS’s voice on the intercom telling him that he was not allowed access to any of the above floors.

Instead, when he had stepped into the elevator, the doors had shut and the elevator rose on its own.

He watched as the numbers indicating the floors lit up one by one until he was at the top floor.

The doors slid open and Steve slowly stepped out from the lift.

Tony Stark lounged on a couch large enough for five people to sit comfortably on and drank what smelled like scotch. The three top buttons of his dress shirt were undone, his tie was loose, his hair was ruffled, and he wore sunglasses even though he was indoors. He grinned at Steve as he sipped his drink. “If it isn’t Spangles himself. I’d stand up and shake your hand, but it’s been a long day.” Tony nodded toward the bar. “Make yourself a drink.”

Steve fought down any expression that would give away his disgust and annoyance.

Tony Stark was just lying around in his penthouse without a care in the world while Iron Man was suffering from terrible injuries. “No thank you. I came by to check on Iron Man.”

“Ah, yes. I heard about you harassing my employees.” Tony smiled around the rim of his glass. “I would have thought you’d gotten the hint by now, but I miscalculated just how stubborn the amazing Captain America is.”

Steve felt like a cat with its fur stroked wrong. Everyday it was a struggle for Steve to get people to see beyond the Captain America persona, and it bothered him every time he met someone who bought into. Today though, he didn’t know if it was because he was already on edge or because it was Tony, but the Captain America comment really bothered him.

“There is a lot you don’t know about me.” Steve approached the couch, seizing Tony up. The man was small, but well-built. He could probably handle himself decently in a one on one fight with someone around his size. He probably wouldn’t fare well though against anyone bigger.  Steve briefly wondered if Tony had a gym built into his home somewhere, since the man was a supposed recluse now. “Where is Iron Man?”

Tony rolled his eyes and started to lean forward to set his glass down on the coffee table in front of him. He grimaced partway then sank back into the couch. “You’re a one note, aren’t you? You must be terrible at parties.”

“Where is Iron Man?” Steve repeated.

Tony threw his head back and groaned. “You are so boring.”

Tony took a deep breath and waved Steve toward the elevator. “Your precious Iron Man is fine. Now go.”

“Not until I see Iron Man.”

Tony quirked an eyebrow at Steve. “You do realize that the only reason why you are even this far into my home is because I have allowed it, don’t you? I can have you escorted out of here in seconds.”

Steve leveled Tony with a serious look. “Prove it.”

Tony blinked.

Steve held his ground.

Tony snorted. “Can you believe this, JARVIS?”

“Unfortunately, sir.”

Tony shook his head. He moved like he was going to sit up. The corner of his mouth twitched and he fell back into his seat again. He smirked. “I’m not going to summon Iron Man to escort you out if that is what you are hoping for.”

Steve shook his head and continued toward Tony. “All I want is–”

“Stop.” Tony held up his hand. “You’re invading my personal space.”

Steve fought to keep his jaw from dropping. He wasn’t even anywhere near Tony. He was just a few steps from one end of the couch–the opposite end of where Tony was.

Steve shook his head and marched forward just to be defiant; he was sick and tired of Tony’s attitude. “Let me make something clear, I am not going to…” Steve trailed off as crimson from the side of Tony’s suit caught his eye.

Not just crimson–blood. Steve took a whiff of the air just to be sure, and he detected the coppery scent.

Tony lowered his arm to cover his side and scowled at Steve. “I said to stay out of my personal space.”

Steve’s brain raced. He hadn’t gotten a good look at Iron Man, but Tony’s injury was in the right area that Iron Man’s had appeared to be in.

It was an unlikely coincidence, but it had to be, because otherwise…

“I know I’m pretty, but stop staring, Cap.”

Steve’s eyes flickered to Tony’s face, and his stomach dropped out from him.

…Tony was Iron Man.


	4. Chapter 4

Tony knew he’d made a mistake by letting Steve Rogers into the penthouse, but he’d still been a sucker for the man’s blatant worry for Iron Man. Rhodey and Happy were the only ones to show such concern for him before (and there was that one time with Pepper, but his PA had quickly returned to professionalism shortly there after, squashing any hopes of a relationship outside of work).

Technically Steve’s concern may have been for Iron Man, but for one moment it was nice to pretend that Steve’s worry was for Tony and let the man into the penthouse.

It was a moment of weakness Tony deeply regretted.

Steve was doing his best not to stare at Tony’s wound, but he’d already seen the damage, and his restraint was nothing more than a pretense for what both of them already knew. Tony was injured in the exact same spot as Iron Man. The odds of two people getting the same injury within hours of each other in the same location when supposedly one person was out fighting a giant squid and the other was safely tucked away in a tower were ridiculously slim.

Tony could probably convince a number of people that it was coincidence–no one wanted to believe Iron Man was Tony Stark–but Steve was not one of those people. Steve may have had the figure of a meathead, but his mind was sharp. He didn’t need the exact numbers to know how unlikely it was a coincidence.

That sharp mind was one of the reasons why Tony was so fond of the man. Of course now he cursed Steve for his brain.

Steve’s gaze dropped to Tony’s injury.

On reflex, Tony twisted to shield his injury more. He cringed as pain shot up his side.

Suddenly Steve was kneeling on the floor in front of him and hiking up Tony’s shirt to look at the injury. “Careful. You don’t want to cause more damage.”

Tony’s brain faltered, but his mouth didn’t. “What do you think I’ve been trying to do?” He winced as Steve’s fingers grazed the tender flesh as he rolled up Tony’s shirt. The bandages Tony had wrapped around himself had come loose, and blood flowed freely from his wound.

Steve frowned at the deep puncture wounds below Tony’s ribcage. “These need stitches.”

Tony let out a breathy laugh. “Thanks, doc. I wasn’t aware.”

Steve scowled, but quickly erased the expression. He grabbed one of Tony’s knees and pierced Tony with his demanding blue gaze. “Have you called a doctor?”

“I am a doctor. Three times over in fact. You want to see my degrees?” Tony grinned.

Steve shook his head and looked at the bleeding wound. “JARVIS, call a doctor or direct me to a medical kit.”

“You going to stitch me up army style?” Tony teased.

Steve hit Tony with a scathing look. “If I have to. It’s not going to be pretty if I do.”

Tony was stunned, all word lost to him. He wasn’t unfamiliar with Steve determination and bluntness, but it was so surreal to have it aimed at him–Tony Stark–and to know it was being directed at him because on some level Steve cared. Admittedly, he probably cared more because Tony was an injured human being than because of who Tony was, but Tony would take it.

Tony placed his hands on Steve’s broad shoulders and put on his best devil may care smile. “Contrary to popular belief, a few blemishes won’t bother me. I’d be honored to be marked up Captain America.”

Steve’s face contorted into a mixture of emotions, and mirth bubbled in Tony’s belly at the sight. He always did like confusing Steve. He loved the way it made Steve’s face scrunch up.

“You should see a doctor–a doctor in medicine,” Steve was quick to tack on.

“Probably, but I’m a paranoid bastard, and a secret this big would be tempting for anyone to reveal, even if it would cost them their job.” Tony could think of a handful of times when certain medical conditions of his somehow ended up in the press. He never had any proof that a nurse or doctor had leaked information, but the timing of such events was very suspicious, and it made Tony who was already wary of doctors more so. If Steve was genuinely offering to stitch him up, then Tony would happily pop some pain medication, put a rag in his mouth, and let Steve have at him.

“Tony,” Steve started, and just for fun, Tony put a silencing finger on Steve’s lips.

The action earned Tony another furrowed brow, and it pleased Tony. “Please, I’m in your hands, Cap. I can’t imagine much safer ones either.”

Steve opened his mouth then shut it. He looked like he wanted to argue with Tony some more, but he kept glancing at the bleeding wound.

“JARVIS, that med kit?” Steve asked.

“Down the hall, second door on the right, under the sink, Captain.”

Steve nodded and rose to his feet, eyeing Tony apprehensively.

Tony grinned up at him. “Don’t worry. I can’t run away with this wound.”

Steve snorted in what was either amusement or exasperation (Tony liked to think the former), then headed for the med kit.

Tony sighed and covered his eyes with his hand.

He had no idea how he was going to get himself out of this shit storm.

It could have been worse though. At least it hadn’t been Natasha who had found him. She would have told Fury in a heartbeat. Steve might tell Fury too, but at least Tony had a chance to convince Steve that the morally right thing to do was to keep Tony’s secret.

Steve returned with the medical kit and a hand towel. The kit was open and Steve was frowning at the contents inside. “Sometimes I forget that first aid kits aren’t supposed to have the items required for stitching, among other things.” Steve looked up from the kit. “Yours does though.”

Tony forced a smile. “Well, now that you know about my second job, I’m sure you can understand why my kits might have an upgrade.”

Steve stared at Tony.

Tony scowled. “Do you want me to bleed to death?” He waved Steve over. “Get over here.”

Steve’s nostrils flared at the command, but he kneeled in front of Tony. He set the kit down on the coffee table and pulled a few items out. He eyed the couch and Tony. “This could get messy. I’m going to grab some more towels.”

Tony nodded, his eyes glued to the pain medication bottle that Steve had left in the kit. He knew what Steve had been thinking. Tony had been drinking just a few moments ago, and medication and alcohol were not a good mix. Tony wasn’t going to suffer though (plus, he’d already taken a few pills earlier to help with the pain, so Steve’s caution was too little too late). Tony gritted his teeth and breathed heavily through his nose as he stretched out to grab the pill bottle.

His side burned with pain, but it would be a lot more painful if Steve got a needle in him and Tony hadn’t taken any medication. Tony sighed in relief once he had the bottle in his hand. He slumped into the couch. He twisted open the bottle and popped four pills into his mouth. He swallowed them dry just as Steve returned from getting towels.

Steve froze, gaze locked on the pill bottle. “Tony! Are you trying to kill yourself?”

Tony recapped the bottle and tossed it to Steve, who caught it. “No. I’ve done worse, trust me. I can handle a little alcohol and medication mixture.”

“You’re crazy.”

“That’s what they say. Along with narcissistic and arrogant.”

“How can–” Steve cut himself off.

Tony’s chest tightened. There were many ways Steve could have intended to end that sentence, but Tony suspected it was along the lines of “How can you be Iron Man?”

Tony shoved down his emotional hurt and gestured for Steve to set up. “Let’s get this over with.”

Steve nodded and got to work covering the couch with towels. It wasn’t an easy process since Tony was already lying on the couch and neither one of them wanted to move Tony in case it opened his wound more.

It was enough time for Tony to feel really loose and relaxed. He watched as Steve sterilized the needle and  felt a happy tingle in his gut as he admired Steve’s studious expression.

Steve offered Tony the hand towel for Tony to bite down on, and Tony took it.

Steve began to stitch.

At first the sensation was just an annoying, albeit painful, prick. As Steve made more stitches though, Tony’s side burned with pain. He white-knuckled the arm of the couch and breathed in deep through his nose. He wanted to pass out, but he forced himself to stay conscious. If he fainted, Steve might stop and take him to a hospital, and Tony refused to go there after he’d already started the stitching process with Steve.

The minutes bled together, and Tony was not aware Steve was done until Steve gently removed the towel from Tony’s mouth and brushed back a few sweat-soaked curls from Tony’s face.

“Done.”

Tony gasped and crumpled into the arm of the couch. He closed his eyes and hugged the couch for all it was worth.

Next time he’d take morphine.

Tony was aware of Steve cleaning up around him. He knew the polite thing to do would be to clean up on his own since it was his home, but he was injured damn it, and exhausted. There was barely enough strength in him to lift his head, let alone his arms or legs.

Tony laid his head down on the arm and closed his eyes.

“Here.” Steve carefully tilted Tony’s head up and brought a glass of water with a straw to Tony’s lips.

Tony blinked, his brain foggy. He scanned the room, and saw that the place was cleaned up. He also noticed that his side didn’t feel sticky with blood. He must have passed out while Steve was cleaning and the super soldier had decided to not only tidy up the living room, but clean up Tony too. Even put a new bandage on by the feel of it.

Tony clasped his lips around the straw and drank. He wanted to drink until the glass was empty, but Steve pulled the beverage away with a quick: “Don’t want you to puke.”

“I can handle a little water,” Tony griped.

Steve patted Tony’s back. “Humor me.”

Tony grumbled but didn’t argue further.

He shivered and the next thing he knew, Steve was dropping a blanket over him.

Tony tugged the blanket around him and burrowed into the side of the couch. He could easily fall asleep there.

“How does your rose tattoo work?”

Tony’s eyes flew open at Steve’s question.

Steve had seated himself on the coffee table. His elbows were resting on his knees, and he was slightly hunched over. His lips were curled downward in that perplexed frown of his.

“It’s a tattoo, Cap. How do you think it works?”

“I may have been frozen for seventy-years, but I’ve been unfrozen long enough to know tattoos that move are not normal. So how does it work?”

“Move?” Tony asked innocently.

Steve fought down a scowl. “The rose petal. It was in a different spot when I started stitching you up than when I stopped.”

“Are you sure you’re not the one who took scotch and pain medication together?” Tony asked.

“Tony.”

“Stop ‘Tony’-ing me.” Tony huffed and tried to sit up, but quickly gave up. “You don’t get to use my name like some reprimand when you don’t even know me. You know, Iron Man. You can chastise him, but don’t come into my life and start making demands or judgements just cause you know Iron Man.”

“You are Iron Man,” Steve stated, the scrunch of his face giving away his feelings on the matter.

“Yes and no. We share the same body, but Iron Man is a hero and Tony Stark is a villain.”

Steve sat up straighter. “Do you have multiple personalities?”

Tony shook his head. “One person.”

Steve frowned and mulled over Tony’s answer. “You don’t see yourself as Iron Man.”

Tony snorted. “No one sees me as Iron Man.”

Steve was about to speak when JARVIS cut in. “Sir, Colonel Rhodes is headed your way, and he has used his override codes to gain access to the penthouse.”

Tony cursed under his breath. The blanket would hide his injury, but Rhodey was going to be suspicious when he saw Steve and noticed that  Tony refused to move from the couch. Tony had to think of something quick.

Tony didn’t get to though. Instead he was left shocked as Steve joined Tony on the couch and with extreme care maneuvered Tony to lie against his chest. He wrapped his arms around Tony and rested a hand on top of Tony’s head.

By the time Tony’s brain caught up with Steve’s actions, the elevator opened and Rhodey stormed inside.

“Close your eyes,” Steve whispered hastily.

“All right, I gave myself a few hours to calm down, but I can’t it any more. Where the hell is Iron Man? I need to give that asshole a piece of my mind for the crap he pulled to–”

Having shut his eyes, Tony didn’t know what expression was on Rhodey’s face, but he was sure his best friend was gobsmacked at the sight of Tony curled up against Captain America. Tony knew he would have been if the roles were reversed.

“What the hell?” Rhodey asked.

Steve shushed Rhodey. “He’s finally sleeping.”

Rhodey lowered his voice, but that didn’t lessen the anger of bafflement in his tone. “What the hell are you doing here and with Tony?”

“I came to check on Iron Man,” Steve whispered. He raised his shoulder and dropped it. “When I got here Tony was passed out on the floor and had a fever.”

Rhodey cursed, and just as Steve had done before him, Rhodey rushed to Tony’s side and dropped down in front of him.

Rhodey placed his hand on Tony’s forehead. “Shit. He’s really burning up.”

Tony frowned. He didn’t have a fever, so how had Rhodey picked up anything?

“Tony?” Rhodey murmured.

Tony groaned and blinked open his eyes.

Worry shown in Rhodey’s brown eyes and guilt pierced Tony in the heart. Considering how often he’d lied to his best friend over the years it shouldn’t have bothered him to deceive Rhodey now, but lying to Rhodey was always like the first time–it cut deep and he always hated himself afterwards.

“Rhodey?” Tony said, the exhaustion in his tone at least real.

Rhodey shushed Tony. He suddenly had the same glass of water Steve had offered earlier raised up to Tony’s lips. “Shit, Tony. Did you lock yourself away in your lab again? You know that’s not healthy. Have you been sleeping or eating?”

Tony took a few sips of water then grumbled. “Not my fault.” He nestled into Steve.

Rhodey sighed and set the glass down on the table. He stood up and headed toward the kitchen. “He’s going to need juice. I’ll see if I can get Dum-E to make one of those nasty shakes of his. I don’t want him starting on solids right away if he hasn’t had anything in three days.”

“Does this happen often?” Steve asked right as Tony said, “I’m still here.”

Rhodey was already in the kitchen and rustling around in the fridge by the sounds of it. “All the time,” Rhodey hollered.

Steve looked down at Tony, amazement and wonder in his gaze.

Tony huffed and weakly pushed at Steve’s cheek so Steve would have to look away.

It didn’t happen that often at all. Tony was a snacker. He was always eating snacks. Sometimes he would forget to restock the lab with snacks though (he had his groceries delivered and put away for him all the time, but he refused to let anyone in his lab, so he had to be the one to remember to transfer food from the kitchen to the lab). So every now and then he’d go on a lab binge and forget to eat because of lack of snacks, but it wasn’t that bad. Once a month tops.

Rhodey returned with a glass of orange juice. “Honestly, Tony, you need to get a boyfriend or girlfriend, someone who can check in on you regularly so this doesn’t happen.”

Tony beamed at Rhodey. “But that’s what I have you for.”

Rhodey smiled as he shook his head and brought the orange juice to Tony’s mouth. “That’s not my job.” Rhodey’s eyes lit up. “But you know whose job it is…?”

Tony groaned and pushed the orange juice away. “Not Iron Man’s. He’s paid to protect me from bullets and such. Not an unhealthy lifestyle.”

“Maybe you should pay him to do both,” Rhodey suggested.

Tony scoffed, pushing away the juice again when Rhodey brought it to his face a second time.

“Where is that stupid tin can, by the way. I got a bone to pick with him.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Not telling. And if you want to yell at him, then yell at me. I’m the one who gave him the ability to shut down your armor.”

“What?” Rhodey jerked back in surprise. “How could–”

“After Stark Expo?” Tony hit Rhodey with a deadpan look. “Are you really surprised?”

“That doesn’t give him the right to use it on me.” Rhodey’s cheeks puffed up in indignation and he set the juice down. “Disable that feature, right now.”

Tony looked away from Rhodey, his stomach churning in anticipation of Rhodey’s outrage. “No.”

“That’s my suit!”

“Technically, it’s mine. I’ve just never taken it back.”

“Tony, that’s–”

“Considering Tony’s condition, perhaps it’s better if you two save your fight until later,” Steve interrupted, his voice calm and level. He gave both of them warning looks. “I understand your frustration, Rhodes, but this really isn’t the time. I’m sure Tony will discuss it with you when he is feeling better though, correct?” The look Steve gave Tony made it clear that he expected Tony to do just that–no excuses.

Tony huffed and sank against Steve, his eyelids fluttering as he soaked in Steve’s warmth. He knew based on scans of Steve’s body with the Iron Man suit that the super soldier ran warm, but this was the first time he got to experience that body heat personally, and he found it was just the right temperature that Tony could fall asleep against. “Fine.”

Tony tensed at the hand on his back, not expecting Steve to touch him there, but after a few soothing strokes, Tony relaxed and allowed himself a moment to enjoy the touch. He wouldn’t have another chance once the moment was over.

Rhodey sighed. “Okay. Thanks for the help, Cap. I can take care of Tony from here.”

Steve’s paused in his strokes. Tony could sense Steve looking down at him. Steve picked up his strokes again. “I’ll stay for now. He’s already falling back asleep, and I want to ask him a few questions when he wakes up again.”

“You don’t have to,” Rhodey insisted.

“It’s fine,” Steve said. “I don’t have any plans tonight. I’ve helped him already. I might as well nurse him all the way back to health now.”

“If you’re sure.”

The hand on Tony’s back slid up to Tony’s shoulder and squeezed. “I’m sure.”


	5. Chapter 5

Steve didn’t know what to make of the situation with Tony.

Iron Man was Tony.

Tony was Iron Man.

It just didn’t make any sense.

Iron Man was honorable, humorous, kind, and self-sacrificing. Tony though was selfish. A spoiled brat who had grown up with a silver spoon in his mouth with no concept of real world problems. A man who had spent most of his youth bedding anything that moved and getting intoxicated.

How could that man be the same man who had grabbed a nuke out of the sky and flown it into space knowing that he would most likely not survive?

It didn’t make sense, which was why Steve had to research.

While Tony rested, Steve pulled out his cell phone and researched Tony Stark thoroughly.

What amazed Steve to see was that for a good chunk of Tony’s early youth there wasn’t much said about him, and what was mentioned was positive. He’d won many competitions when he was younger and many magazines had predicted that Tony would change the world through his inventions and/or do an excellent job running Stark Industries one day.

Then right around the time Howard died every article about Tony turned negative. It appeared to start with rumors of Tony having cheated on his ex Tiberius Stone.

Steve internally cringed as he read article after article, each one filled with more vitriol than the last. Some of the venomous words seemed fairly earned while others appeared forced, like the writer was just trying to write something negative.

Then there were the short articles that Steve almost missed. While Tony was blasted time and time again for being a womanizer, a playboy, and an all around wild child, the few stories that mentioned the charities he’d created over the years and funded were concise and neutral in tone. However, such a tone was lost when one of said charities turned out to be a front for one SI board member’s schemes… And it was all Tony’s fault.

Steve studied that passage in particular. Tony was the one to discover that the board member who he had entrusted to run the charity had been dipping into funds, yet Tony was blamed for not doing anything sooner. He was even called an idiot for being fooled for so long.

The remarks didn’t sit right with Steve, and so Steve read everything with a cautious and open mind.

In some instances Steve couldn’t excuse Tony’s behaviors, especially many of the things he did later on in life, but that did not erase the fact that there was a disturbing trend in the media regarding Tony.

The media loved to tear Tony down and minimize what good he did do.

It wasn’t right. It felt like bullying to Steve, which he was sure would make a number of people laugh if they knew he thought that way. After all, how could someone like Tony Stark be bullied? He was rich and had access to almost everything in the world.

He also had millions of people picking apart every word and action he made and never letting him live down his mistakes from the past.

Just the thought of being under that much scrutiny made it hard for Steve to breath. He could barely handle the attention he got from the media, and he’d done pretty much everything he could to avoid the media’s attention short of quitting the Avengers and going into hiding. How someone could stand to have the amount of attention Tony did, Steve didn’t know. He’d probably have gone bonkers and punched someone in the face by now if he were Tony.

Tony squirmed, his cheek nuzzling Steve’s chest as he grumbled.

Steve mindlessly rubbed Tony’s arm comfortingly as he read another article about Tony. He didn’t even fully register the action, having once done something similar for Bucky when his best friend was nursing a hangover.

Tony stiffened then groaned. “Please tell me I’m nuzzling Rhodey’s bosom.”

“I didn’t realize the colonel had a pair of breasts,” Steve quipped.

“He doesn’t, but you do.” Tony tilted his head back and squinted sleepily at Steve. “Your pecs are so huge you need a bra.”

“I’ve heard bras are uncomfortable, so no thank you.”

Tony snorted in amusement. “I hope JARVIS recorded that. No one’s going to believe me if I say Captain America has strong opinions on bras.”

And just like that, something clicked in Steve’s head and he understood why the divide between Iron Man and Tony Stark existed. “Not Captain America; Steve Rogers. Steve has strong opinions about bras. Captain America is just an icon.”

“Symbol of hope, peace, and justice right?” A mischievous smile lit up Tony’s face. Tony tried to sit up and winced.

“Careful,” Steve said and gently encouraged Tony to lie back down. “You probably should be on bed rest for the next couple of days.”

“Aw, and here I thought you only cared about Iron Man.”

“And you’re him, just the side that nobody sees.”

“The side that nobody wants to see.”

Steve wished he could argue differently, but after spending the last few hours researching Tony, it was obvious that Tony was not exaggerating.

Tony glanced around the room. “Rhodey?”

“Left after an hour. He realized I wasn’t going to leave you any time soon, and I guess he thought he could trust Captain America with you.”

“I’m sure most people would.” Tony stretched and once again winced.

“You need to stop doing that,” Steve said.

“But my muscles are sore,” Tony whined, and it was such a petulant and childish sound coming from a grown man that Steve had to pause and gather himself. The whine was something he’d never pictured Iron Man or Tony Stark making. Then again, he’d never thought someone like Tony Stark would be prone to forgetting to eat and passing out on the floor from overworking himself.

Despite all the stories he’d heard about Tony Stark, Steve had no clue who the man really was.

Steve startled when the cell phone in his pocket rang. Taking one last glance at Tony, Steve picked the phone out of his pocket and read the caller ID.

Sam.

Steve double-checked the time and internally cursed. Steve hadn’t been in the mood to have the usual celebratory meal with his team after what had happened with Iron Man–-Tony. Steve had promised to have drinks with Sam though, and it was well past the hour they had set for their date.

“I need to take this.” Steve carefully slid out from under Tony and helped Tony lie down.

Tony waved Steve toward a hallway. “You can go over there if you want privacy.”

“Thanks.” Steve hurried to the hall and pressed the accept button right before the last ring. “Sorry, I got distracted.”

“Would this distraction happen to be red, gold, and full of sass?”

Steve could feel his face heat, but maintained his composure in his voice. “Iron Man _is_ pretty sassy, even when he is injured.”

Sam whistled appreciatively. “So Tony Stark actually let you near him?”

Steve paused, not sure how to respond. Now that Steve knew the truth, he wondered if Tony Stark would have kept Steve away from Iron Man if they had been two different people? Maybe Steve was just a naive fool, but his instincts told him Tony would have been more inclined to allow Steve to see Iron Man if such was the case, unless Iron Man specifically requested Steve to be kept away.

“You there, Steve?” Sam asked.

Steve snapped out of his thoughts. “Yeah, sorry. Just thinking.”

“So how is our metal man?”

“He’ll live, but his wound is pretty deep, and he has a lot of bruising.”

“Wait! Hold up! Bruising? Steve, are you telling me you’ve seen Iron Man outside of his armor?”

Steve mentally cursed. “It was on the doctor’s report. Iron Man’s identity is still a secret.”

“Damn, and here I thought I would finally know something before Natasha.”

“Sam,” Steve put some reprimand in his tone. “Iron Man’s identity isn’t gossip you get to lord over your teammates.”

“Yes, Captain,” sarcasm rolled off of Sam’s voice.

“Sam.”

“I heard you, Steve. I’m aware of how serious the issue is, and I would never lord Iron Man’s identity over anyone if I knew what it was. I was joking.”

Of course Sam was, Steve was just protective of Iron Man, and now Tony too it seemed.

Steve internally sighed, this was such a complicated mess. “So can we reschedule drinks for another time?”

“Sure. I just wanted to make sure that you didn’t get yourself kidnapped and strapped down to some table in Stark’s lab for experimentation.”

“You shouldn’t joke about that,” the command slipped out of Steve. “We deal with immoral scientists everyday, and in the recent decade Tony has pioneered the clean energy field and given us Iron Man. He’s many steps away from being similar to the scientists we’ve dealt with.”

“Someone’s in a preachy mood today.” There was a note of disapproval and concern in Sam’s voice. “Did something happen? Besides your crush getting injured that is?”

Steve let out a frustrated breath. “Just stressed. Sorry. How about tomorrow for those drinks? Same time?”

“Sure, and Steve, make sure to get some rest.”

“Will do.” They exchanged goodbyes and Steve hung up.

Steve pocketed his phone and rubbed the back of his neck. He could feel knots forming as his mind ran through dozens of scenarios of how things would play out with his team now that he knew who Iron Man was.

Steve headed back to the couch and froze.

The blanket he’d wrapped Tony in was strewn across the couch and there was no Tony in sight.

A loud thunk and crash came from the kitchen and Steve raced into the room.

Tony was hunched over the kitchen counter and white-knuckling it. A broken glass of orange juice lay at his feet. A string of curses flowed from Tony’s lips as he breathed deep.  

“You shouldn’t be up,” Steve chastised and hurried across the room.

He reached out his arms to steady Tony.

Tony seized Steve by the forearms and put all of his weight on Steve. “It was just a glass of juice, and I was doing fine until I leaned the wrong way.”

Steve hauled Tony over to the nearest chair and set him down with care. He frowned at the large orange stain that coated the front of Tony’s shirt.

Steve went to the sink, grabbed a paper towel and wetted it. He tossed the wet sheet to Tony. “Here, take off your shirt and clean yourself up. I’ll handle the floor.”

Tony stiffened.

Steve huffed, guessing what had Tony tense. “I promise I won’t ask about your tattoo for now.”

Tony set the paper towels aside. “Thanks, but I’ll clean up in my room.” Tony tried to stand, but immediately gritted his teeth and flopped back into the chair.

Steve sighed and went over to Tony. He tucked his fingertips under the hem of Tony’s shirt and paused. “Okay, lift your arms up.”

“Unless you plan on making out with me, I don’t think so.”

Irritation sparked in Steve. “Why are you being so difficult?”

Defiance flashed in Tony’s eyes. “Have you ever heard of boundaries, Steve? Maybe you feel fine taking off your shirt in front of others, but I don’t.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Really? It’s a vanity thing?”

Tony launched out of his chair knocking it back. A cry of pain came from his throat, but he bit down hard on his bottom lip to stifle the sound. “It’s a privacy thing.” Tony stomped toward the exit.

Steve rushed to Tony and stopped him in his tracks. Tony was going to injure himself more if he kept walking around like he was doing. “All right. Sorry.” Steve inhaled deeply then released. “I’m just trying to help. I’ll clean up this mess, then get you a new shirt and leave you alone to clean up on your own. Deal?”

Tony was hesitant. He scrutinized Steve but after a moment he uttered, “Deal.”

Steve helped Tony back to the couch then did as promised. He cleaned the kitchen then went to Tony’s bedroom to get Tony a new shirt. JARVIS helped Steve find Tony’s casual shirts. As Steve sifted through the shirts, a pattern began to emerge: half of them had a hole in the chest.

Steve frowned as he studied one of said shirts. He’d seen shirts with windows before, but they were more stylized and each was different. All of Tony’s were the same and a simple circular shape.

Just like the arc reactor in the Iron Man suit.

The blood drained from Steve’s face.

He had to be making up things in his head. The idea that the arc reactor was connected to Tony’s chest was the kind of thinking that came from sci-fi novels. Then again, Steve’s life felt like a giant sci-fi novel most days. He didn’t know why or how, but he suspected that the arc reactor was attached to Tony, and he had doubts that it was a fashion choice.

“Captain, have you picked out a shirt for Sir yet?” JARVIS asked.

Steve startled and nodded. “Yeah, just… how can he have so many shirts?”

“Sir does like to change his appearance often,” JARVIS responded almost wistfully.

Steve left Tony’s room with a T-shirt that didn’t have a hole in it.

“What took you so long?” Tony asked when Steve returned.

“Sorry. Daydreaming.” Steve handed the shirt over to Tony then fetched a wet cloth for Tony. As Steve handed the cloth to Tony he eyed Tony’s neck and chest. There was something under Tony’s shirt–the chest was raised just slightly enough that it could be seen if one looked for it, but it could otherwise be easily missed. There wasn’t a chain or string to suggest whatever was on Tony’s chest was part of a necklace.

“I’ll leave you alone now,” Steve said as he headed back to the hallway where he’d had his conversation with Sam.

Tony made an affirmative grunt as he lifted the bottom of his shirt and began wiping away the juice along his abdomen.

Standing in the hallway gave Steve plenty of time to mull over his new bits of information about Tony. He wished he’d had Tony lie on him differently so he could have gotten a sense of the feel of whatever it was that was on or in Tony’s chest. It would make it easier to discern if his worst suspicions were true or not.

It also made him wonder how Tony would have reacted if Steve had lifted Tony’s shirt a little higher when he’d been bandaging Tony. Tony’s shirt had only been rolled up centimeters away from the potential arc reactor in or on his chest.

“I’m all dressed up now,” Tony said, a hint of flirting to his tone. “Unfortunately you won’t be able to undress me this time, but play your cards right and maybe in the future you can.” Tony winked as Steve entered the room.

Steve bent to picked up Tony’s discarded shirt and Tony waved him off. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it later, or have Dum-E come up from the lab and do it. Tesla knows he misses his daddy.”

“That’s your robot, right? Your first AI?” Steve asked.

Tony quirked an eyebrow. “I don’t believe I’ve told you that. Have you been googling me?”

The question was light and teasing, but Steve answered deadpanned. “Yes.”

Tony blinked, taken aback but then shrugged off his shock. “Most people do that nowadays. Glad to see that you are caught up with the times.”

Steve sat down on the couch with Tony. “Did you piss someone off in the media industry?”

Tony chuckled. “Plenty, but I’m guessing you’re asking about when I was younger and just starting to run the company.” Tony grinned from ear to ear. “My nose was pretty clean before then. So to answer your question: as far as I know, back then I hadn’t. Now: definitely.”

Steve struggled. He had so many questions for Tony and he didn’t know where to start.

“Why are you still here?” Tony asked.

There wasn’t any anger in Tony’s tone; he was genuinely curious.

The curiosity is what blindsided Steve and threw him off kilter. “Why wouldn’t I be here?”

“I’m Tony Stark: Merchant of Death. You may like Iron Man, but Tony Stark? That’s something completely different.”

“I don’t know if that is entirely true.” Steve cocked his head to the side and looked Tony over. “I’m starting to think Tony Stark and Iron Man are a lot more similar than Tony Stark and whoever this Merchant of Death is.”

Tony scoffed. “Then you’d be an idiot.”

“Probably, because honestly, I really don’t know who Tony Stark is.”

“Is that why you’re here? To solve a mystery?”

Steve thought about it. “A little, but mostly I’m here, because you’re injured and you need help.”

Tony snorted in amusement. “Always the boy scout, aye Cap?”

“How about when we’re not in uniform you call me me Steve and I call you Tony?” Steve suggested.

Tony eyed Steve warily. “And when we are in uniform?”

Steve smiled. “It’s Captain America and Iron Man.” Steve held out his hand for a shake. “That sound good?”

Tony pulled a face. “I’ll probably call you Cap or Winghead, but I promise I’ll keep the nicknames in line with your uniform.” Tony grabbed Steve’s hand, but didn’t shake, waiting for Steve’s follow up.

Steve grinned and shook their hands. “Sounds like a plan.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Got your sixth!” Iron Man flew behind Steve and fired off a repulsor blast at one of the ten aliens they were fighting.

Steve only got a glance, but it looked like Tony had taken care of the large purple alien with rock like skin and spine tentacles.

Steve grunted as he blocked a hit from a yellow alien with two heads. He swiftly struck out, smacking the heads together with his shield and then using the alien’s moment of stupor to knock it onto its back.

“You know, the one thing I liked about Loki,” Iron Man said, firing off one of the missiles in his shoulder. “At least we could understand him; we knew what he was doing on Earth. I have no idea why these guys are creating such a ruckus.”

“Maybe they didn’t like what was being served at the bar?” Clint suggested as he shot one alien with an electric arrow, knocking the alien unconscious. “Reports said they showed up at the bar first and attacked when everyone panicked.”

“I’d be pretty pissed if I went into a bar for a drink and everyone screamed and scattered,” Rhodes said on the comms.

“Guys, don’t make me have to say, ‘Chatter,’” Steve warned.

“But I love to hear your voice, Cap,” Iron Man teased.

_Then call me after this_ , Steve was tempted to respond, but he kept himself professional.

Iron Man took off, only to be intercepted by one of the more nimble aliens. The alien latched onto Iron Man and threw Iron Man with enough force impact could leave Iron Man paralyzed..

Steve’s heart lurched, but Iron Man changed his trajectory to avoid impact. He blasted the alien across the street and into a building.

The fight continued on.

The fight wasn’t quick, but it certainly wasn’t the worst. They’d managed to keep most damage within a block of the initial fight. “Most” being the key word. Two of the aliens at the last moment took off in different directions and the team had been forced to split up and chase the aliens through the city. The chase was actually the longest part of the battle, and it had worn most of the team out.

Clint and Natasha had taken to sitting on the edge of the sidewalk as they answered a few questions from a SHIELD agent. Sam wasn’t too far off. He’d taken off his jet pack and was rolling his shoulders to work some of the tension out of his muscles. Rhodes had stepped out of the War Machine suit and appeared to be giving Iron Man a piece of his mind.

Worried for Tony, Steve approached the two men.

Rhodes caught Steve from the corner of his eye, and finished whatever he had to say to Iron Man.

Iron Man shrugged. “I won’t make any promises.”

“Everything okay over here?” Steve asked.

Iron Man lifted his head in Steve’s direction. “Nothing to worry about, Cap. War Machine and I were just discussing how neither one of us likes to be grounded.” The thrusters in Iron Man’s boots came to life and lifted him into the air. He saluted Steve. “Now if you don’t mind, I have a another job to do. Remember to stay pretty for me.” Iron Man blew Steve a kiss.

Steve huffed, but smiled.

He’d check on Tony later.

* * *

“So to what do I owe this visit?” Tony inquired without looking away from some metal contraption he was working on.

Steve blinked, only coming halfway out of his reverie as his attention was torn between Tony and Tony’s lab. Steve liked to think with all of his experiences breaking into Hydra bases (which often included labs) and with his time in SHIELD he wouldn’t be so thrown or mesmerized by Tony’s lab.

Hydra’s labs were always a mixture of advanced technology and old equipment. They were often cold and dank with most of the power being generated going to experiments than to warming or lighting the places up. SHIELD on the other hand was white walls and advanced everything. They were clean and efficient.

Tony’s lab was similar to SHIELD’s except whereas the labs at SHIELD could belong to anyone with a sizable bank account, Tony’s lab was just so clearly Tony’s. There were rock band and car posters on the walls as well as several display cases of Tony’s Iron Man suits. While equipment was kept tucked away in what Steve assumed was proper holding compartments, half finished projects littered the tables or even hung from the ceiling. Two robots with claws rolled around the shop, one rummaging through the small kitchen area in the back of the lab while the other raced over to Tony with a screwdriver that Tony batted away.

Tony smiled at Steve over his shoulder. “Cat got your tongue, Cap?”

Steve realized then that his mouth was slightly hanging open and he shut it. “Cap is for the field, Tony.”

“But it’s such a cute nickname,” Tony cooed, the smirk on his face giving away that he was teasing Steve. “And really, what kind of nickname can I make for Steve? ‘Stevie’ defeats the purpose of a nickname because it’s longer than the original. I suppose I could call you Eve, but that’s just too biblical for me. Oh! Let’s go 90’s kid on you, and I’ll call you Eevee? You want to be a Pokemon, right?”

Steve sighed in exasperation, but found himself smiling too. “Glad to see you’re doing well after today’s battle.”

Tony tapped on his side where his wound from their previous battle had been. “All healed up and I didn’t take any major hits, so your concern is really unwarranted…Steeb.”

Steve groaned, waltzing up to Tony’s side and examining whatever the hell it was Tony was working on. Whatever it was, it was going to be big. “You’re just going to keep making up nicknames, aren’t you?”

Tony hummed in thought, picking up his screwdriver and tapping it against the corner of his mouth. The action drew Steve’s attention to the spot and Steve noticed that oil covered the corner of Tony’s mouth.

“I don’t know, I’m kind of fond of Steeb now. Sounds like dweeb, which is what you are.”

Steve licked his thumb and reached for Tony’s cheek. “You got something. One moment—”

Tony batted Steve’s arm away. “Whoa! Hey, did you just try to mom me?” Tony rubbed at his cheek, smearing the oil instead of getting rid of it.

“I was trying to get that oil stain off your face before it slipped into your mouth.”

“With your spit?”

“It’s just spit.”

Tony wrinkled his nose and rubbed at his cheek some more. He pointed his screwdriver warningly at Steve. “Your are a disgusting menace who should be locked up.”

Steve raised an eyebrow at that. He was about to say something sassy when he paused and considered Tony.

Ever since Stark Expo Tony had locked himself away in his home, only venturing out when necessary and as Iron Man. It made Steve wonder. “Is it a phobia?”

“What?” Tony was thoroughly perplexed.

“The reason why you find what I did disgusting,” Steve clarified. “I just wanted to make sure I hadn’t scared you.”

Tony puffed up his chest and huffed. “As if you could scare me, Rogers.” Tony stepped forward and crossed his arms over his chest. “Go ahead. Mom me.”

Steve pulled a face at Tony’s word choice and debated if he really wanted to meet Tony’s challenge. However, one look at the stain that now covered all of Tony’s check and Steve’s inner neat freak demanded he do something about the mess. Steve shrugged and licked his thumb again. “Okay. Your choice.”

He cupped Tony’s head to keep Tony from pulling away then rubbed away the oil that was closest to Tony’s mouth.

One of the robots rolled up behind Steve and started beeping.

Steve paused and looked back at the robot.

Tony huffed. “Really, DUM-E? You can’t stand having the spotlight on you for one minute? I really should just send you off to a community college. Then you can enjoy all of the Freshmen’s grubby little fingers on you as they take apart your motherboard to figure out how you work.”

DUM-E beeped some more then rolled away with its claw down.

“It think you hurt its feelings?” Steve more asked than stated.

Tony waved off the question. “He’ll get over it. I’ll let him help me build something in a bit and he’ll be happy as can be. Now,” Tony said pointedly, “you going to just continue to hold my face like you’re going to kiss me or are you going to finish what you started?”

Steve grimaced and tilted Tony’s head to examine. “You smeared it so much. Why did you have to touch it?”

Tony smirked. “What? Don’t have enough spit to clean my face?”

Steve paused, a few responses popping into his head, many of which would not be appropriate, given that Tony and him were in many ways still strangers.

“Do you have a wash cloth I can use?” Steve asked.

Tony beamed as if he’d just won first place in some competition. He slipped his head out from Steve’s hands and waved Steve over to the kitchenette.

Tony yanked open a drawer and pulled out a washcloth, mindful of the other bot hovering around the area and stuffing vegetables into a juicer as he did so. Tony wetted the cloth then handed it over to Steve. He closed his eyes and grinned. “All right, Steeb, clean me up like the mother hen that you are.”

Steve let out a sound of annoyance, but once again found himself smiling at Tony’s antics. He slipped his fingers under Tony’s chin and patted at Tony’s face with the cloth. “You are ridiculous. For someone who was so against me mothering them moments ago, you sure seem happy about it now.”

“What can I say, I bask in the attention.”

“No doubt about that,” Steve teased and finished wiping away the oil stain. He handed the wet cloth back to Tony, and Tony tossed the cloth into the sink.

Tony patted his face. “Don’t I feel all nice and clean now.” He clapped Steve on the shoulder. “Excellent work, Steeb.”

Steve groaned. “Is that really the nickname you’ve chosen for me?”

Tony winked. “Suits you perfectly.”  

“I have to disagree.”

“Aw, Steeb, don’t be such a downer,” Tony ribbed Steve and headed back toward his project. “Now, is there a reason you came here, besides checking on me? Do you need an upgrade, because I have to be honest with you, I’m very disappointed in SHIELD ignoring half of my consultation.”

“Upgrade?” Steve’s brain reeled. He was aware that SHIELD occasionally contacted Tony for information and advice on tech, but he had no idea that Tony had ever been contacted about upgrades for Steve.

“Yeah,” Tony nodded. “Like the stealth suit. They got the basic design right, but it’s pretty clear that they used a different material than the one I suggested. I guess they wanted to focus more on maneuverability and less on protection. If they’d used the material that I suggested though they’d see that the factor at which your maneuverability would be cut would be so minimal it would be the best option since it would not only give you some extra padding from hits, but it would protect better against knives and fire.”

Steve blinked. “You worked on my stealth suit?”

Tony shrugged as he tinkered away. “I’ve worked on everybody’s armor and equipment at one point or another, not that SHIELD would ever say anything about it. It’s been made quite clear that once they find an engineer who can do what I do, they’ll cut ties with me. Until then, I’m just a shadow in the background.”

Tony paused in the middle of his work and ruffled his hair as he stared down at the inner workings of his contraption. “Probably for the best. My reputation would kill SHIELD and the Avengers.”

“That’s not fair,” Steve protested.

Tony chuckled. “Now who ever said anything was fair? It’s not about fair, it’s about getting the job done.”

Tony’s reasoning put a bad taste in Steve’s mouth. He knew there was truth to what Tony said, but that didn’t make it right. “The team should know that you’ve been helping them.”

Tony whirled, screwdriver replaced with soldering iron, and soldering iron aimed at Steve but kept a safe distance away from the super soldier. “No. They don’t trust Tony Stark. You tell them I had anything to do with their equipment, and they’ll start using their cheap stuff again.”

“You can’t believe that our teammates are that petty?” Steve exclaimed.

Tony lowered the soldering iron and looked away. “I don’t want to, but they wouldn’t be the first people to refuse my help on principle.”

The confession knocked the words right out of Steve.

Tony shrugged. “I’m sure some of them wouldn’t care. No one complains about Iron Man or War Machine being on the team and everyone knows I built those suits, but when it comes to the actual stuff they use in battle…” Tony shook his head. “…just leave it alone, Steve. Their safety is worth more than my ego.”

Tony words rammed into Steve’s gut, once again knocking the words right out of Steve, but unlike before it came with an added side effect.

Steve’s heart squeezed–it squeezed the same way it did every time Iron Man had taken a hard hit in battle or every time he’d invited Iron Man out to team dinners and Iron Man had refused. It was his heart telling him that he cared, and that he wanted to offer the man in front of him some respite.

The selflessness that he’d seen in Iron Man had belonged to Tony all along—it wasn’t just some character Tony put on whenever he stepped into his armor.

“Sir,” JARVIS’ voice came over the speakers. “You asked to me to remind you thirty minutes prior to James Rhodes’ arrival that you two have a movies and beer night tonight.”

Tony blinked and cocked his head. “I do?”

“Yes, sir.”

Tony’s face lit up and started packing up his tools. “Awesome. We have plenty of beer right? The good stuff, not that cheap stuff for emergencies and people we don’t like.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Great.” Tony beamed over his shoulder at Steve. “You can join us too. Rhodey is probably going to tell me all about today’s battle, and it will be easier for me to keep a straight face if I know someone else has to sit through all of the rehashed details. We can also watch some old movie for you. Hitchcock had a few films out during your time, didn’t he? Ever get to see his newer stuff?”  

Steve grimaced. “You want to watch Hitchcock after today’s fight?”

“Sure. Not like I’m some blonde checking into a creepy hotel with a bird motif and some loser with mommy issues.”

Steve blinked. “I’m not sure what you are referencing.”

Tony grabbed Steve’s arm and tugged him toward the elevator, smiling the whole time. “Then it is settled. Tonight you get to watch Psycho.”

* * *

Natasha pinned Steve to the mat. Steve noticed several SHIELD agents heads turn toward him and Natasha, but he ignored them. It wasn’t uncommon for the Avengers to get a bit of an audience when they used SHIELD’s gyms for training. Although many of the senior agents were better at hiding their curiosity, the newer agents always snuck peeks.

“You’re distracted,” Natasha said.

“I’m completely focused.” Steve tried to rise up on his elbows, but Natasha shifted her knees onto his chest and shoved all of her weight onto him to keep him in place.

Steve grunted, and didn’t try to sit up again. If Natasha was keeping him down there was a reason. “Something on your mind, Romanoff?”

“No, but there is something on yours.”

Steve didn’t know what to say. He could lie and bluff to his enemies, and he could even lie by omission to those he cared about, but when confronted with a direct question or accusation by his friends he struggled with deceit, especially if he felt his lie wasn’t for the greater good but a more selfish reason. Against someone like Natasha who dealt with liars almost every day, Steve had no chance of keeping anything from her. “Do you know about who SHIELD consults with when it comes to upgrading our equipment?”

Natasha didn’t tense, nor did her face twitch in any manner that would indicate surprise, but the her moment of silence was enough for Steve discover the truth. Natasha knew about Tony Stark.

“Is this going to be a problem?” Natasha asked.

“The fact that you were keeping this from me or are you asking if I have a problem with our consultant?”

“Both.”

“I don’t like secrets,” Steve stated.

Natasha let out a huff of laughter and rolled off of him. “Careful, Steve. You almost sounded like a hypocrite there, or do you and Sam want to tell Fury about your side project?”

Steve internally cringed. His ongoing search for Bucky wasn’t the only secret he was keeping now.

“Point taken,” Steve said.

Natasha nodded, satisfied. Her eyes soon sparkled with mischief. “How was your date with Tony and Rhodey?”

Steve balked. “How did you—”

“Do you really need to ask?” Natasha smiled and rose to her feet. “But just for your peace of mind, Sam and Clint decided to invite Rhodey out for some extra team bonding time. Sounds like he was both in awe and confused by your presence.” Her smile curled a bit more. “Clint suspects he’s secretly a Captain America fan.”

Steve flushed, but couldn’t deny that he was glad to know that all of the curious looks Rhodey had been giving him during movie night weren’t because he thought Steve had been intruding on his time with Tony. Admittedly, Steve wasn’t crazy about Rhodey being a fan either, but he’d prefer that over any potential animosity.

“Does anybody else know about our consultant?” Steve asked, going back to the original topic to avoid the other.

“On the team?” Natasha shook her head. “Just you and me, with a high probability of Iron Man knowing as well.”

Steve nodded, torn between satisfaction and dissatisfaction. If everyone had known then maybe he could have encouraged Tony to… Steve didn’t know what exactly, but he at least wanted Tony’s help to be acknowledged more. At the same time, he was happy to make sure Tony’s wishes were being fulfilled (albeit mostly and not entirely).

“Okay,” Steve said and stood. He took a deep breath. “Okay.”

* * *

“Oh Honey bear!” Tony flung himself at James, glomping onto his best friend like a child. “You brought me food. I love you!” Tony made an exaggerated sound as he puckered his lips and leaned into James to give his friend a peck.

James shoved his palm between their mouths. “Nope. You can give me the kiss of life if I ever drown, but until that day you are limited to hugs and the occasional sleepover.”

“Can it be a naked sleepover?”

Even from his spot across the room, Steve could see Tony wiggle his eyebrow suggestively at James.

James rolled his eyes and swatted Tony’s shoulder. “Only if you grow a pair of breasts.”

“Technically that can be arranged,”Tony said.

Steve almost choked on air, once again caught off guard by Tony’s open personality. Steve let his gaze rove over Tony. He never had thought of Tony as a woman before, but if that’s how Tony identified then who was he judge? Still, it was shocking to have Tony just put it out there. He knew this century was more open about certain things, but the last he heard there were still struggles with gender identity and equal rights all around.

James sighed as he carried the bag of take out to the kitchen table. “Tony, unless you’re going to tell me that you identify as female or non-binary or whatever, maybe avoid those kind of jokes in front of the World War II Veteran. Steve looks like his head is about to explode from overthinking.”

“Fine, fine,” Tony waved off Rhodey’s comment. He turned to Steve and with his chest thrust out. “I would make one hell of a sexy woman though, wouldn’t I, Steeb?”

Steve paused, gauging how much of the question was a joke and how much of it was serious. “I’m not touching that with a thirty-nine and half foot pole.”

Tony cooed and cupped his face between his hands. “Oh, Platypus, did you hear that? My Stevie-kins just made a pop culture reference. It’s a little seasonal, I admit, but it still counts.”

Steve smirked. “I did it just for you.”

Tony fanned himself. “Oh, Steeb, the things you do to me.”

James wrinkled his nose. “I’m saying this now, because I know you will crack some joke about it later: there will be no threeway between you, Steve, and me.”

Tony feigned a sniffle as he rubbed under his eye. “Break my heart, why don’t you?”

Steve bit the inside of his cheek to stifle a chuckle. Steve had visited Tony a number of times now, and almost always after a mission or battle. It was clear that while Tony had James and someone named Happy, for the most part he spent the larger chunk of his days alone with only his robots for company and the occasional visit from Pepper Potts. It wasn’t a healthy way to live, and Steve wanted to make sure that Tony was taking proper care of himself. He hoped one day to lure Tony outside, but for now he was taking baby steps with the genius.

“So is tonight movies, video games, or Extreme Tower Tag?” James asked as he opened one of the take out cartons. Something spicy and salty filled the air and Steve was drawn toward the kitchen.

“Ugh. No Tower Tag today.” Tony massaged his neck. “I’m too sore from working.”

Steve frowned. Earlier today Tony had been thrown into a building. He’d seemed fine afterwards, but now Steve had his doubts.

“Are you sure you don’t need to see a doctor?” Steve asked.

Tony stopped in the middle of massaging his neck, momentarily surprised. He let out a soft chuckle and winked at Steve. “Only if you’re offering.”

The answer was flirtatious, but Tony held Steve’s gaze for a moment, his expression momentarily serious.

Steve nodded. “Maybe I’ll take you up on that offer.” Steve bent slightly as he looked at the food. He recognized it as something Asian, but he wasn’t sure where exactly the cuisine came from. He just knew it smelled and looked good. His stomach rumbled.

“Sounds like it’s a good thing I assumed you’d be joining us tonight too,” James said, taking out another carton.

The comment made Steve falter. “I’m not intruding, am I?”

James scoffed. “Hell no. I’m just surprised is all. Who knew Iron Man getting injured would lead to you and Tony becoming besties.”

“Well… maybe not besties.” Tony side eyed Steve. “Not like we text each other everyday and gossip about boys and girls. Besides, I’m not sure if I could ever compete with—” Tony cut himself off. “Never mind.”

Steve was intrigued. “Compete with what?”

“I think it’s more of a who,” James said.

“Can we maybe not bring down the mood, and drop the subject?” Tony asked.

It took a moment for Steve to catch on, but when he did there was a pang in his chest at the memory of Bucky. “Yeah…”

There was silence as James continued to take out cartons of food, while Tony went to the cupboards and pulled out dishes. Steve fetched utensils and napkins to keep himself busy.

James sighed. “Sounds like the mood dropped anyway.”

Tony flinched.

Steve forced a smile. “Seems like it, but you know…” Steve turned to Tony. “…no one will ever replace Bucky, but that doesn’t mean I am incapable of making new friends.”

Tony scoffed, setting down the plates he’d gathered onto the kitchen table. “Thanks for the platitudes and reassurances, but this much emotional talk is making my skin crawl. I’m going to need to see the trashiest most violent movie after this.”

Steve chortled.”Strange, because I was going to request the sappiest and most romantic movie.”

Tony scowled. “Don’t you dare!”

James made a thoughtful sound. “You know, you and I have been the ones to pick out the movies. It’s about time Steve gets to choose one.”

“Steve has terrible movie taste.”

“You don’t know that,” Steve protested.

Tony rolled his eyes and grabbed a spoon. He started scooping food onto his plate. “Just no _Bridget Jones’s Diary_.”

“What’s that?” Steve asked.

“Romantic comedy,” James answered. “There is a fist fight at the end that’s pretty hilarious.”

“So it has violence?” Steve smirked. “Sounds exactly like the kind of movie Tony wants to see.”

“Fuck you, Steve.” Tony flipped Steve the bird.

Steve laughed off the insult and joined Tony in piling on food on a plate. Seeing that the others had started taking food without him, James stopped trying to open and set up every carton and began to dig in himself. Steve didn’t blame James, as much as Steve tried to control his appetite, ever since he’d been injected with the super soldier serum, his metabolism had skyrocketed and if he wasn’t paying attention he would often take more than his fair share of food.

The three of them gathered on the couch with Steve on one end and James on the other.

Tony plopped himself in the middle and scooted up close to Steve.

It wasn’t the first time Tony had invaded Steve’s space during movie night. He liked to alternate between cozying up to James and pressing himself against Steve. It had surprised Steve at first, but it became clear after a while that Tony just enjoyed being close to people.

Steve wondered how much physical contact Tony had with anyone outside of James or battle.

The maudlin thought caused Steve to frown and he hid the expression behind a bite of some noodle dish that reeked of spice and peppers.

Despite his protests, Tony only groaned in annoyance as _Bridget Jones’s Diary_ played on the TV screen and then kept quiet. He even set his plate down on the coffee table when he was done and closed his eyes and dozed for a few minutes as a the film played.

When the movie finished, Tony yawned and gathered his plate to take to the sink.

“So anyone up for a poker game tonight?” James asked.

“Tempting, but for once I feel tired.” Tony covered his mouth as another yawn slipped out of him.

“Other than your brief nap just now, you have been awake for over forty-eight hours, sir,” JARVIS interjected.

“Then that settles it.” James joined Tony at the kitchen sink. He gently shoved Tony away. “Go to bed. I’ll clean up.”

“But you bought the food, Platypus.”

“And you’re tired _now_. I’ve known you long enough to know that if you don’t go to bed in the next ten minutes you’re going to be awake for another three hours at least.”

  
“I don’t think doing the dishes will wake me up that much,” Tony mumbled.

James gave Tony another shove. “Go. You can make it up to me later.”

“Will Steve tuck me in?” Tony batted his eyelashes at Steve.

Steve feigned a sigh of exasperation, but nodded in agreement. He headed toward Tony’s bedroom. “Come on, Tony, before James straps you down to the bed himself.”

“I’m not against bondage,” Tony teased.

“You just had to make it kinky,” James said over his shoulder as Tony followed Steve out of the kitchen.

Tony laughed to himself.

Steve held open the bedroom door as Tony strolled inside. Tony marched up to the bed, pivoted, and plopped himself down on the mattress. Tony rolled up the bottom half of his shirt, keeping the arc reactor underneath well hidden.

Steve kneeled infront of Tony. He lightly touched his fingers along Tony’s sides. His fingertips paused against the slightly raised skin from the scar left behind when Tony’s armor had stabbed him not long ago. It was strange to think about that day and compare his interactions with Tony then to their interactions now.

His eyes drifted to the stems and leaves along Tony’s chest. A single rose halfway peeked out from the bottom of Tony’s shirt. A single rose petal drifted down to Tony’s waistline.

Tony cleared his throat. “You’re supposed to be looking at injuries, Rogers, not my tattoo.”

Steve wanted to touch that rose petal to see if the skin there felt any different than the rest. “I’m not going to ask, but will you ever tell me how or why you got this tattoo?”

“You wouldn’t believe me.”

The corner of Steve’s mouth quirked up. “We’ve fought gods and aliens, Tony. There is not a lot I wouldn’t believe.”

Steve’s response gave Tony pause, and for a moment Steve wondered if Tony were contemplating telling him about the rose.

“Maybe another time.” Tony grinned. “When you need a good bedtime story, but that means you have to sleepover first.” Tony winked at Steve. “And I like to have all of my sleepovers in my bed, just so you know. It’s the most comfortable bed here, and I hate to give my guests anything less than perfect.”

Steve huffed in amusement and let his fingers trail across Tony’s body in search of any tender areas, he paid extra attention to any bruises he came across to make sure they really were just superficial injuries and not indications of anything deeper. “I will say this, you may not be the awful person the media likes to paint you as, but there is no question that you are a flirt.”

“Just for you, dear.” Tony blew Steve a kiss.

“And James,” Steve said.

Tony mock gasped. “Well, of course for Rhodey. He is my soul mate.”

“Now there is something I never thought I’d hear coming out of your mouth. I didn’t think you were the type to believe in soul mates.” Steve stood and tugged down Tony’s shirt. “Everything seems fine. If you’re really hurting though, I can grab you some painkillers.” Steve pulled a face. “Don’t mix them with alcohol this time.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Stop mother henning me. It was just once.”

“That’s not what you said.”

“It was just once in front of you,” Tony corrected. “And I already took some pills earlier, so I’m fine. I’ll just take a hot bath in the morning. In the meantime….” Tony let his back fall towards the bed and sighed as he sank into the pillows and blankets. “…I’m going to do what Rhodey has told me to do for once and sleep.”

Tony curled up on his side and waved Steve out. “Night Steeb. Don’t let the elevator crush you on the way out.”

Steve scowled but his irritation was far more mild than his expression indicated. “I’ll do my best. Night, Tony.”

“Night, Steebie-kins.”

Steve rolled his eyes at the nickname and shut the door behind him, careful to keep it quiet. He padded down the hall and toward the kitchen where James was just finishing putting away the dishes.

James smiled at him. “Thanks for the assist.”

“No trouble.” Steve smiled at James. “He’s a handful, but he’s a softie.”

“Yeah.” James’s gaze went distant, but there was a faint shimmer of fondness as he recalled something. “He’s always been a pushover deep down. Maybe not when it comes to business—he’s a shark—but when it comes to people. I think it’s why he tries to act like an ass to most people at first. If they don’t like him, then it’s easier for him not to like them in kind, and then it’s easier for him not throw himself at them.”

Steve mulled over James’s analysis. He hadn’t gotten to see Tony interact with anyone outside of old videos, the Avengers, and James off duty. He couldn’t personally confirm or deny if what James said was true, but the way Tony doted on James suggested that James’s analysis may not be that far off.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is,” James took a moment to chose his words, “thanks. It’s like you said, he can be a handful, but he’s one of the best people you’ll ever meet. So thanks for giving him chance.”

Something in Steve’s chest ached, but he kept a soft smile on his face as he answered, “No problem. I’m glad I did too.”


	7. Chapter 7

“You two want to take me out on a date?” Tony teased, although his tone was very incredulous and serious.

James swatted the back of Tony’s head, mindful not to knock over the armor Tony was currently bent over and piecing together in his workshop. “We want to take you outside. Get you some fresh air. It’s not healthy spending all day inside.”

“Many shut-ins would disagree with you.” Tony tugged two wires out from the armor’s body and turned around to tap at the tablet set by his knee.

Steve, who had let James take the lead, waltzed over to where Tony was working. His eyes drifted down to the tablet. He caught a glimpse of some coding as well as the word “Ultron.”.

Tony maneuvered some calculations around the screen and frowned. “Not even close to an interface,” he muttered.

“Is Ultron the name of the new armor?” Steve asked.

“Steve, focus,” James chastised. “If you give him the opportunity, he will distract you.”

“Actually, it’s a program I’ve been building on the side,” Tony said and returned his full attention to the armor.

“So you’re working on two things at once?” Steve asked.

“Steve,” James reprimanded.

Steve huffed, irritated. “I’m just curious. I can’t imagine someone working on coding and building an Iron Man suit at once, but I suppose if anyone could do it, it would be Tony.”

Tony grinned. "When you’ve built as many suits as I have, you need a little something extra on the side to add a challenge.”

Steve nodded, crossing his arms over his chest as he considered Tony’s explanation. He smiled. “Great. So since you have been challenging yourself, it’s time for a break, don’t you think? How about some fresh air?”

Tony sighed and flopped onto his ass, stretching his legs out in front of him. “But all the other kids will be mean to me,” Tony whined. “I don’t want to go.”

Tony might have been exaggerating in his tone, but Steve suspected Tony’s words weren’t entirely false.

“Then Steve and I will kick the ass of anyone who is mean to you.” James squatted down next to Tony and slung an arm around his friend’s neck. “Steve and I weren’t thinking about anything extended. Just a walk to get some smoothies or coffee—maybe a burger—and then we’ll come back here.”

Tony eyed James with suspicion. “Just a walk?”

James crossed his heart. “I swear.”

Tony turned to Steve. “And you?”

“Just a walk,” Steve promised.

Tony’s remained less than enthusiastic by the premise, but eventually sighed and stood. “All right. Let me put on my disguise.”

“Your disguise?” Steve couldn’t keep the amusement out of his voice.

“Tony huffed, one hand going to his hip. “Yes, Steve. Not all of us are America’s sweetheart. I need a disguise if we are going to get any good service.” Tony rolled his eyes. “Ridiculous. Doesn’t anyone consider that I might tip handsomely for good service?” Tony grumbled the entire way out of his lab.

Steve turned to James for assistance, unsure if he should go after Tony and provide comfort and encouragement or if he should just let Tony stew.

James waved off Steve’s concern. “He’ll be fine. Once he gets over his nerves, he’ll be as excited as a kid going to a candy store.”

Steve doubted that, but he had faith in James’ friendship with Tony to know what the genius needed.

A few minutes later the trio were leaving Stark Tower with Tony wearing a large hoodie and a pair of sunglasses.

Steve didn’t think much of the disguise, but then again, he’d once used a cap and a pair of eyeglasses for a disguise and it had worked. No one ever expected to meet him, so a simple disguise had been enough. The same probably held true for Tony.

Tony clung to James’ arm as they walked down the sidewalk.

“I expect the best coffee, Honeybear. If the stuff I have at home is better than what we buy out here then this trip is completely pointless.”

“It’s just coffee,” Rhodey said.

“Traitor,” Tony cried out in mock horror. He released Rhodey and glomped onto Steve’s arm.  “Please tell me you don’t agree with him?”

“Would I lie to you?” Steve responded.

Tony narrowed his gaze at Steve. “That is not an answer. Also, yes.” Tony’s hug on Steve’s arm tightened. “You may seem all sweet and american pie, but it’s a lie, making you a master of deceit. How many people have you taken advantage of using your boy scout persona?”

“Probably around fifty,” Steve threw out a random number.

Tony tsked and shook his head in disappointment. “Those poor victims.”

Steve just smiled at the comment, delighted to have finally gotten Tony out of his tower, and without much protest. He hadn’t been sure how Tony would react, if he was being honest. Tony ventured outside as Iron Man quite often, and Tony was known to leave the tower for business, so Steve didn’t think Tony had any deep seeded fears regarding going outside, but Steve couldn’t be sure until now.

And Tony was nervous. He hid it well behind his teasing and dramatics, but Steve didn’t miss how Tony bounced between him and James, clinging to at least one of them always as they walked.

When they reached the coffee shop, James took the lead in line. Tony who had been clinging to James a moment prior, was suddenly glued to Steve’s arm and engaging Steve in conversation. Tony kept his head slightly tucked against Steve’s shoulder. It only took Steve a second to realize that Tony had positioned himself so that James blocked a clear view of him from the front of the line while Steve blocked people from behind; Tony had created barrier.

A mixture of emotions tangled in Steve’s stomach. He was happy Tony trusted him, but disappointed and saddened that Tony felt he needed to hide and protect himself from the public. He was righteously furious that Tony—one of the bravest men Steve knew, and who was hero—had legitimate reasons to worry about how those around him would react upon learning his identity.

And as inappropriate as it was, he was also pleased to have Tony so close to him. Even more inappropriate: even he thought Tony was cute with his hoodie pulled up and his sunglasses sliding down his nose. He wanted to kiss Tony.

“You two going to order?” James asked over his shoulder.

Steve blinked, noticing that they had reached the front of the line.

Tony listed off his order, the barista scribbling it on a cup. It gave Steve enough time to skim the menu overhead and order one of the simpler brews.

Tony handed his wallet over to James to pay with, then nudged Steve to the pick up zone for drinks. Tony placed himself in front of Steve with his back facing the barista who was making the drinks.

“Sounds like Sam started you off on the right track with music,” Tony said in response to the list of albums Steve had mentioned Sam had recommended to him. “I personally would go for more rock music, but he gave you some classics to listen to.”

Steve snorted. “I remember when Beethoven and Chopin were classics.”

Tony grinned. “They are, but now there’s more.”

“More what?” James returned Tony’s wallet to him.

Tony turned to face James, smiling brilliantly.

At that same instant the barista making their coffee looked up. There was a flash of recognition in her eyes. She quickly lowered her head and went back to work.

Steve decided to ignore her initial reaction; she’d been quick to ignore them, so she was probably shy or didn’t want to cause a scene.

Within a minute, she slid a cup onto the counter. “Spangles.”

Steve shot James an annoyed look, but fetched his coffee.

“Rhodey,” the barista called shortly after.

James got his coffee.

The three milled around for another five minutes, waiting for Tony’s beverage.

“What did you order?” Steve asked.

“Nothing that should have taken this long.” Tony eyed the barista with suspicion.

James frowned. “Give her a few more minutes.”

Plenty of people who had been behind Tony in line had already received their coffee, but Tony didn’t argue against James’ suggestion.

They waited as more people received their drinks and Tony didn’t.

James had gone from calm to visibly seething, and Tony had taken to fiddling with the hem of Steve’s shirt as he tried to distract Steve and James with conversation.

“I’m going over there,” James said, and did so.

James called the barista over from making a drink and talked to her. Steve listened in. The girl apologized profusely, swearing that she hadn’t seen a cup with Tony’s order on it. She grabbed a new cup, marked it, then immediately started making the coffee.

James returned, still slightly angry, but placated. “She says she didn’t get your cup.”

Tony nodded, a small frown on his face that showed his doubt. He squashed the expression with a smile. “Happens all the time.”

Maybe it does for Tony, Steve thought.

A surge of protectiveness raced through Steve. He wrapped an arm around Tony’s shoulders and brought him in for a half hug.

Tony wrapped an arm around Steve’s waist and cooed. “Aw, I get hugs from Steeb.” He nuzzled Steve’s shoulder. “She can spend another ten minutes on my order then. I do enjoy my Steeb hugs. Almost as much as I enjoy my platypus ones.” Tony wiggled his eyes suggestively at James.

More time passed, and Steve grew worried, but he saw Tony’s cup next in the queue and no other drinks had been made since James had spoken to the barista.

The barista’s coworker who was working the register came over and talked to her at one point.

Tony had distracted Steve then so Steve missed the interaction, but when Steve refocused his attention, the register barista was looking at them.

Steve’s stomach churned.

“Edward,” the barista in charge of brewing coffee called. She slid the now full cup across the the counter.

James retrieved the drink and brought it to Tony.

Tony muttered his gratitude and took the cup. He sipped it.

Tony grimaced.

The expression lasted a millisecond before Tony slid on his charismatic smile. “Hmm. They made sure those beans were roasted.”

Steve snatched the cup out of Tony’s hand with no warning and sipped it.

Steve almost spat the beverage out.

The coffee was burned.

Steve swallowed, and without pausing to reconsider his actions, Steve marched up to the counter and slammed the coffee down. “This is burned, and your service so far has been unprofessional.”

The girl making the drinks tensed. Her eyes scanned Steve, and for the second time Steve saw recognition in her gaze. How she had noticed who Tony was, but not Steve right away, Steve was not sure, but he wasn’t going to question it beyond simple curiosity. Instead he stood taller and gave her his most angered and disappointed look. “My friend order coffee over twenty minutes ago, and what he finally got was burned. Make him a fresh cup now.”

“Yes, Captain!” The girl squeaked and got to work.

Murmurs picked up around the coffee shop, murmurs that included his superhero title.

Steve restrained himself from pinching his nose and sighing.

Tony sidled up next to him, leaning against Steve in a casual manner. “Jeez, Steeb, no need to go mama grizzly on me.”

James scoffed. “It was going to be him or me. Be grateful it was him. I would have been ten times worse.” James nodded at Steve. “Thanks.”

Clicks from camera phones went off. “Don’t thank me yet. Cover is blown.”

Tony tensed and took a step away from Steve. “I should give you some space.”

Steve latched onto Tony’s wrist and wrapped him up in another side hug. “No. I’m not ashamed to be seen with you.”

Tony glanced around the room nervously. He acted flippant as he said, “Who mentioned anything about being ashamed? I’m just trying to protect your image.”

“My image doesn’t need protection.”

“All done.” The barista returned with another cup of coffee. Her hands shook as she pushed it toward Steve.

Steve didn’t thank her just yet. He picked up the cup and took a sip. His nose wrinkled at the strength of the beverage and the amount of sugar.He assumed that was what Tony wanted though and passed the beverage to Tony.

Tony took a sip and smirked. “Perfect.” He winked at the barista. “Practice makes perfect, right?”

The girl flushed, but the change in color appeared to be more due to anger than embarrassment.

“All right, let’s go before things get even more mucked up.” James stuffed his hands in his pocket and headed for the exit.

Steve nodded and guided Tony outside, his arm around Tony the whole time.

* * *

“I can’t believe you cheated on Mom,” Clint wailed when Steve entered the gym that morning.

Steve blinked. He’d already received an ominous text from Tony declaring that they needed to talk, and now Clint was… Well, Steve had no idea what Clint was doing. “Who’s Mom?”

Sam huffed, rising out from a leg stretch. “Iron Man.”

Clint nodded on the floor where he was doing his own series of stretches. “He’s going to be so heartbroken when he sees today’s headliner.”

“What?” Steve asked.

Sam sighed, went to his gym bag, pulled out his phone, and typed something into the device. Sam marched up to Steve and showed Steve the phone’s screen.

A news article speculating on the romance between Steve and Tony blazed across the screen and included a picture of Steve with his arm wrapped around Tony.

Steve skimmed the article, finding most of it untrue and also very biased.

Within the first two paragraphs the writer had questioned how Tony had managed to seduce and thus taint America’s beloved icon.

Steve was tempted to break the phone.

He was sick and tired of Tony’s portrayal in the media.

“All jokes aside though, Cap,” Clint said, “how could you possibly hang out with the guy? I can understand work related stuff, but—”

“You don’t know anything about him.” Steve passed the phone back to Sam before his emotions could get the better of him.

Clint straightened in surprise. “Not personally, but the guy is pretty well known and Natasha—”

“Had an undercover mission that involved working for him; that did not suddenly make her his best friend or an expert on him.”

Clint raised his hands in a show meant no harm. “Hey, hey, I’m not trying to be a bad guy here. I’m just—”

Steve hit Clint with a glare.

Clint frowned. Slowly, he lowered his arms. “You really like the guy?”

Steve continued to glare.

“I think that’s a yes.” Sam shook his head. “Well, I won’t pretend to understand it, but stranger things have happened. Just let us know if he gives you a hard time.”

“Funny how you don’t offer that help to James,” Steve said bitterly.

“Yeah, but Rhodey has been with Tony for decades. He’s got everything under control,” Clint explained.

Steve looked to Sam then to Clint. Neither one found what they were saying as odd or callous, and that made Steve’s stomach churn with an indiscernible emotion.

Steve pivoted and exited the gym with a “Not feeling so good,” thrown over his shoulder as his farewell.

* * *

Something was off with Tony.

Steve had exchanged a few more texts with Tony since that morning, hoping to get the man to open up. Tony’s texts had been weird. It was obvious that Tony was torn about whether Steve should come over or not.

Steve had an inkling as to why Tony was so hesitant, so Steve hurriedly declared that he’d visit and swatted away any half-hearted protests made by Tony.

When Steve had finally showed up at the tower, Tony was subdued. He acted friendly and poked some fun at Steve, but he didn’t have his normal swagger or charm.

Tony set down a mug of coffee in front of Steve, who had taken over Tony’s couch.

Tony stood awkwardly in front of Steve for a moment, seemingly not knowing what to say or do. He soon crossed his arms and smirked. “Enjoy. I won’t make you a second cup. My coffee is too precious to share.”

“I know about the gossip rags, Tony. It’s fine,” Steve cut to the chase.

Tony faltered. “You do?” Tony straightened and cleared his throat. “Of course you do. It’s everywhere. Not surprising. One of the most vile villains out there dating the symbol of freedom and goodness? It’s novel worthy.”

Steve rose and met Tony’s eyes square on. “You are not a villain, and I never want to hear you say that again.”

“Maybe not now,” Tony grumbled.

“Not ever.”

Tony shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t want to argue about whether I am a villain or not. I wanted to let you know that it’s okay.” Tony shrugged. “It’s okay to put distance between us. You have an image to maintain, and I—”

“Tony,” Steve marched over to his friend and teammate, “you know me better than that. At least, I would think you do. I’m not going to abandon someone I care about because of some sort of image I’m supposed to maintain.”

“Steve, they think we are dating,” Tony stressed. “Being friends would be one thing; it could be brushed off as business politics, but everyone thinks we’re dating. It brings into question your character. I don’t want to do that to you.”

“And what if we were really dating?” Steve asked.

Tony scoffed and turned away. “Please, Steve. Don’t even joke.”

Steve snatched up Tony’s hand. “What if I am not joking?” Steve squeezed Tony’s hand. “Ask anyone on the team and all of them will say I’ve had feelings for Iron Man for a long time now.”

Tony started to pull away. “That’s Iron Man. I’m—”

Steve strengthened his hold. “You’re Tony, and unfortunately, other than maybe James, I don’t have anyone else who can confirm that I’ve been falling for you for a while now too. I have been though.”

Steve interlaced their fingers together. “I like you, Tony. I want to date you.”

Tony looked like he was going to faint. His skin had gone pale and his knees trembled. “You can’t be serious.”

Steve brought their connected hands to his mouth and kissed the back of Tony’s. “I am. Tony Stark, will you date me?”

Tony’s hand in Steve’s became a vice grip. “Steven Grant Rogers, I swear on all that is good in this world that if you are fucking with me, I will put on my Iron Man armor right now and kick your ass across the globe.”

Steve smiled, loving the return of Tony’s spark. “Promise?”

“Yes.” Tony leaned in, about to plant a kiss on Steve’s lips, but stopping. “And I guess I’ll date you.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “‘I guess’ he says.” Steve commented to further though. He was too busy grabbing the back of Tony’s head and kissing the man for all he was worth.


	8. Chapter 8

It’s not love, Tony realized. At least, Steve didn’t love Tony enough to break the curse, that was.

Tony traced the falling rose petal drifting down his abdomen.

It stung a little to know that Steve’s feelings for him weren’t enough, but then he reminded himself that Rhodey loved Tony like no one else–knew more about Tony then Steve would for years to come. What Tony had with Steve was still new. Maybe with time Steve’s feelings would grow to the point that they would lift Tony’s curse.

Unfortunately, Tony didn’t have much time left. According to his calculations, he had just a few months remaining before he’d become what the world perceived him as.

The Merchant of Death.

Tony inwardly shuddered at the thought. Would he wake up one morning with an entirely new personality or would he undergo a physical transformation? Either way, it scared him more than he cared to admit.

That’s why Tony had to finish Ultron. If Tony couldn’t lift his curse before the last petal fell, then at least the world would have Ultron to protect it.

Everyone would be safe.

* * *

Tony tapped away at his tablet and shifted closer to Steve as the movie played on in front of him.

Steve’s side was like a furnace, and Tony adored the constant source of warmth as well as the arm draped around his shoulders.

Tony glanced at Rhodey, who either saw no difference in how close Tony and Steve were seated to how they were prior to dating or was choosing to ignore it. Either was highly probable.

The arm around Tony’s shoulders moved and Steve angled his head to peer at Tony’s tablet. “What are you working on?” Steve’s tone was teasing. “You made such a big deal out of seeing this film, and you’re ignoring it.”

Tony huffed and poked Steve on the nose. “You are the one who needs to see it, not me. I have important work that I need to finish if I don’t want to be up all night doing work.” Tony gave Steve a meaningful look.

It wasn’t uncommon for Steve to linger in the tower longer than Rhodey, but now that Steve and Tony were dating, Steve made a habit of always staying longer.

It didn’t take long for Tony to learn that Steve was not the blushing, flustered, and traditional guy that Tony has anticipated. Now that they were dating, Steve responded to Tony’s flirts with teasing and seductive words of his own. Hell, sometimes he borderline dirty talked to Tony, which had been shocking, albeit pleasant.

The arm around Tony’s shoulder lowered to Tony’s waist. Warm fingers slipped under the hem of Tony’s shirt and kneaded the flesh there.

Tony relaxed into to Steve and continued his work on Ultron. Everything was still so theoretical in his calculations. At least Ultron wasn’t his first AI, he wouldn’t have a chance at finishing Ultron if he didn’t have JARVIS’ coding to work with and adapt.

The movie ended, and Tony had made little headway with Ultron.

He talked with Rhodey for a little bit, then hugged his friend goodbye. Steve and Tony walked Rhodey to the exit, and as soon as the doors shut behind Rhodey, Tony spun around to face Steve.

Their mouths connected instantly, and Tony hummed happily. Steve’s mouth tasted like the popcorn he’d had during the movie, and Tony enjoyed the salty and buttery flavor.

Steve smirked as he broke their kiss. His fingers tangled with Tony. He guided Tony back to the couch where they made out like teeangers.

Steve mussed up Tony’s hair every time he grabbed Tony by the back of the head to angle their kiss differently, and Tony delighted in rucking up Steve’s shirt so he could glide his hands over Steve’s abdominals.

Tony straddled Steve’s lap and was contemplating unzipping his pants so he could get some relief when Steve’s hands rested on Tony’s hips then slid underneath Tony’s shirt. Steve paused.

Tony took a shaky breath. Even though Steve had seen him without a shirt multiple times now, Tony always got nervous whenever Steve began to remove it.

Tony leaned forward and kissed Steve chastely then nodded.

In a second Steve had the shirt off.

Tony appreciated the efficiency. The way Steve removed Tony’s shirt was like taking off a bandaid for Tony.

Tony went back to enthusiastically kissing Steve and exploring Steve’s body.

Steve’s hands grabbed Tony’s buttocks, and Steve hoisted Tony a few inches up so Steve could adjust his position before lowering Tony down.

Tony could feel Steve’s interest along his backside, but he only paid it half a mind, because the new pose had Steve seated upright with his mouth right where Tony’s remaining rose marred his skin.

Steve’s eyes flickered to Tony’s face, gauging Tony’s reaction. He slowly closed his eyes and kissed the rose tenderly.

Tony bit his bottom lip to keep from saying anything.

Steve’s lips ghosted over Tony’s tattooed skin to the scar tissue surrounding the arc reactor. Steve peppered soft kisses along the raised and sensitive flesh.

Tony couldn’t take it any more. It was just too loving and nice.

Tony wrapped his arms around Steve’s head and hugged him. “Stop.”

Steve did so. He pulled back just enough so his head was still wrapped in Tony’s arms, but he could now look Tony in the eye. “Did I hurt you?”

Tony shook his head. “Just…” Tony shrugged and slumped so his forehead rested on Steve’s. He closed his eyes and sighed. “I still can’t believe we’re dating.”

Steve smiled, his hands on Tony’s hips tightening. “And here I thought all of this kissing would have gotten it across.”

Tony snorted and brushed his hand through Steve’s messy hair. “Don’t get cute with me.”

“Aren’t I always?”

“Well, yes, but that is besides the point.”

“And what is the point?” Mirth shimmered in Steve’s eyes.

Tony huffed. He kissed Steve on the cheek. “If you don’t know, then I’m not going to tell you.”

* * *

Outside dates were rare.

It wasn’t that Tony didn’t want to venture out of the tower with Steve so they could have some semblance of a normal dating life, but—

“I can’t believe they found us again,” Steve huffed, ducking his head down so the visor of his cap hid his face from the cameras.

A small group of paparazzi were stalking Steve and Tony through the park.

Steve kept Tony plaster to his side with an arm wrapped securely around the genius.

Tony ducked his head down too. The paper bag of breadcrumbs Steve had insisted he bring crumpling in his hands. The plan had been to feed ducks at the park—perhaps not the most lavish or amazing date plan, but Tony had been fine with it. It had been so long since he’d gone to the park just for any reason outside of superheroing that he’d actually been excited. Plus, the last time he’d fed ducks Jarvis had still been alive.

It would have been a nice simple date that would have been made special just because Steve was there, and the paparazzi had ruined it.

Tony heaved a heavy breath. “Maybe we should consider that privately island date. I know you’re not crazy about it, but these guys wouldn’t be able to come near us at least.” Tony cocked his head at the paparazzi. “Granted, these ones are better than the last. None of them are jumping in front of us. They’re just poorly tailing us.”

A sound of dry amusement escaped Steve. “I suppose that’s one good thing.”

Tony wanted to rest his head on Steve’s shoulder, but stopped himself. He and Steve were dating, but he still had reservations about being so open about his relationship in front of the paparazzi. The damage he was doing to Steve’s reputation was horrendous.

Steve gently headbutted Tony. “Hey, no negative thoughts about yourself.” He scowled. “Negative thoughts about the shutterbugs is a different matter.”

Tony chuckled. “Shutterbugs? The 1940s are coming back.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Steve said sourly, but the smile on his face and twinkle in his eyes told Tony that Steve was just teasing.

Tony jumped when Steve leaned down and stole a kiss from Tony.

The cameras flashed wildly, and Tony’s mouth hung open.

Steve laughed.

* * *

Everything was starting to come together for Ultron.

Rumors had spread about Hydra having Loki’s scepter, and SHIELD was looking into it with the help of the Avengers. Fury had given each Avenger information on the scepter, even the the scientific data gathered from the scepter.

Tony didn’t know what had possessed him to use the data he had on the scepter in conjunction with the Ultron project, but he was thrilled that he had. With just a few “tweaks” to the programming a fully functioning Ultron was a lot closer to a reality.

“What are you doing on the floor?” Steve’s voice came from above Tony.

Tony startled, and scratch paper that he’d been using for his half formed ideas scattered around him. He’d locked himself away in his workshop for hours it seemed.

His stomach growled.

Tony grumbled, stretched to reach under of the counters, and pulled out a bag of chips. Tony checked the expiration date to make sure the chips were still good. “Just sciencing.”

Steve leaned on the counter. “‘Just sciencing’?” Amusement filled his voice.

Tony nodded sagely. “Sometimes you need a new perspective—literally.”

“So what are you working on today?”

Excitement buzzed through Tony. He held up some of his scratch papers as well as his tablet. “Ultron.”

“You’ve been working on that one for a while. What exactly is Ultron?” Steve hunkered down next Tony, settling in for a long spiel. The action caused Tony’s heart to flutter. He appreciated that Steve wanted to hear him ramble on about science and engineering even when he understood maybe half of what Tony was saying.

“Ultron right now is just a program, but soon he’s going to be the best thing to ever happen to the planet.”

Steve chuckled. “Really?”

“Yup. He’s going to be an AI, like JARVIS, but his main objective is to protect the planet. Basically a shield from all further intergalactic threats, even if some of our latest ones have been less like Loki and whatever Thor called those other ones in London, and more like the three-stooges.”

Steve frowned. “Do you mean an actual shield, because I just don’t see how— ”

“No.The plan is to eventually build Ultron his own body, but he won’t be limited to just that. As I said, he’s similar to JARVIS. He’ll have access to unlimited information, and be able to transfer himself from one body to another. I’m getting a little ahead of myself, since I still need to work on coding, but what I was thinking was building a battleship that hovered around Earth that Ultron can manage, that way threats never get to Earth.”

“Tony.” Steve’s voice captured Tony’s attention. Steve’s grimace broke Tony’s heart. “That… that sounds dangerous. You’re putting a weapon out into space, and…” Steve shook his head. “What if Ultron attacks people who mean us no harm or just want shelter? Or what if—and I know you don’t want to think it’s possible, but bare with me—what if someone hacks Ultron? Suddenly someone would have a pretty impressive weapon, don’t you think?”

“We need protection, Steve,” Tony argued. “You didn’t see what I did when I went through that hole. We are so outmatched, and Ultron will give us a fighting chance.”

“Or maybe Ultron will destroy us.”

The statement punched Tony in the gut. He stood up and walked away from Steve.

“Tony!” Steve cried out in surprise and rose to follow Tony. “Tony! I know that’s not what you want to hear, but—”

Tony whirled and snapped. “You’re damn right that is not what I want to hear. You have no idea. No idea how—” Tony turned away. His fists clenched at his sides and he forced himself to take a deep breath. He was shaking. “I’ve worked so hard, and I know it’s coming, this big fight that we are not prepared for, and…” Tony cursed. “…and I am not going to be around to help fight it.”

There was a moment of silence, then suddenly, Steve was grabbing Tony’s arm and spinning Tony around to face him. “What do you mean you’re not going to be around? Why wouldn’t you be, unless—” Steve grimaced and shook his head. “You’re not dying, Tony. I don’t care what we have to do, but whatever it is you think that’s killing you, we’ll find some way to stop it.”

Tony laughed bitterly. “Because it’s just that easy? You think you can just say it will all be better and that it will be?”

Steve scowled. “Of course not, but I’m not going to roll over like a dog and show my belly either. Whatever is going on, we’ll get through it.” Steve squeezed Tony’s upper arm. “Together. You just have to tell me what it is.” Steve’s eyes fell to Tony’s chest where the arc reactor lay; he’d never questioned Tony about it before—he hadn’t even been surprised the first time Tony had taken his shirt off in front of him.

“Is it the arc reactor?” Steve asked.

Tony shook his head. “Your a few years too late for that one.”

Steve frowned, puzzled by Tony’s response.

Tony sighed, torn about what to do. His instincts told him to push Steve away and keep the truth hidden, but… Tony had only a few months left before his curse transformed him into something or someone he’d hoped to never become. He’d rather spend the next few months doing good, and being honest with those around him. He didn’t need a repeat of when he’d been dying due to palladium poisoning.

There was also the hope that maybe once Steve knew the truth, maybe he would understand why Ultron was so important. Maybe he’d help Tony.

Tony knew that latter hope was just wishful thinking, but even so, he wanted to believe that Steve would side with him once Steve knew all the facts.

Tony grabbed Steve by the hand and dragged him over to a chair. He pushed Steve down into the seat then plopped himself on the counter across from Steve.

Tony raised his shirt over his head and tossed it onto the ground. Tony touched the rose on his chest. “You still want to know about my tattoo?”

Steve’s face scrunched with confusion at the change in topic. Even so, Steve nodded, albeit hesitantly.

Tony took a deep breath. “Okay then. …okay.” Tony inhaled and exhaled again. The last person he’d ever tried to tell this story to had been Obadiah, who had been quick to dismiss Tony’s tale. Tony’s nerves jittered. He gripped the edge of the counter for purchase. “Shortly after Howard died and I was made CEO of Stark Industries I attended this party…”

Tony told the story. He drifted through details and expanded upon them to avoid the end of his story for as long as possible. He talked about Tiberius and Obie far more than he ever thought he would, but he was actually glad that he did, because in all honesty, talking about them was slightly therapeutic.

Tony had expected Steve to cut him off and rush him, but Steve listened intently until Tony finally reached the end of his story.

Tony hung his head and hugged himself, not wanting to see Steve’s reaction. “I know. Magic. It’s seems ridiculous, but we’ve seen some pretty crazy stuff now, haven’t we?”

“But you learned your lesson,” Steve said.

“Huh?” Tony finally looked at Steve.

Wrinkles marred Steve’s face. He bit the inside of his cheek. “You learned not make assumptions without knowing all of the facts, right?”

“I like to think I did,” Tony admitted. Guilt weighed in his gut. He really did like to believe he’d become better than who was before, but he wasn’t sure. “But personal growth has nothing to do with breaking the curse.” Tony smiled bitterly. “I literally have no control over how the curse is broken. It comes down to someone else. Someone has to see beyond my reputation and all of the assumed facts about me.”

“But Rhodey and I…” Steve trailed off, his frown deepening.

Tony smiled sadly. He shrugged. “I guess something is missing, or maybe Wanda lied. Maybe there is no way to break the curse.”

Steve scowled. “You can’t think like that. If she said there is a way, then you have to believe there is.” Steve stood up and clamped his hands on Tony’s shoulders. “I’m not going to let you become the person this world thinks you are. I love you too much for that.”

Steve’s eyes darted down to Tony’s chest where the rose was still prominent and a petal floated down Tony’s ribcage.  

Tony’s forlorn smile grew. A soft warmth entered his chest. “Nice try. You can say, ‘I love you’ a hundred times, but until you mean it, it’s not going to work. And even if you do mean it…” Tony exhaled. He bent down and scooped up his shirt. “Rhodey loves me, Steve. If love was all it took, the curse would have broken by now.”

“I’m not going to give up,” Steve said with determination. “And I don’t want you to either, so this Ultron project you have going on, you have to stop it.”

“Steve,” Tony began, but Steve cut him off.

“No, Tony, Ultron is you surrendering. So please, stop working on Ultron for now and instead let’s work on breaking this curse together.”

Tony didn’t want to spend his last few remaining months lying. He really didn’t, but he couldn’t give up Ultron entirely either. He had enough figured out now that as long as he tinkered with the program every now and then he should have enough to time to launch Ultron before his transformation.

He could easily work with Steve to break the curse, and then whenever Steve wasn’t around he could work on Ultron.

“All right.” Tony forced himself to smile. “Let’s do this together.”


	9. Chapter 9

Tony yelped as the lumpy and a gray scaled alien jabbed him in the neck with a high-tech needle. Tony’s mind briefly flashed to the Hypos used in Star Trek, but since he loved that franchise so much, he quickly shoved the thought down so he wouldn’t associate what the aliens were doing to him with his favorite TV show. “You’re bedside manner is astounding,” Tony said to the alien.

A third eye cracked open atop the alien’s forehead and examined Tony.

Strapped to a bed beside him, Rhodey hissed as a crocodile like alien with a feather mane jabbed him with a needle too.

Beyond Rhodey a different alien was doing the same to Steve.

The aliens communicated in their own language then left the room after checking to make sure that their three captives were secured to their beds, and the beds to the floor. They spent a minute discussing something then eventually leaved.

Perfect! They were dealing with none too bright aliens; Tony could work with that. But first, the more obvious and easy solution. “Steve, can you—”

Steve grunted. He bucked against his restraints. “It may be a normal bed, but whatever this thing is that they attached to it and my hands is not earth-made and not so easily broken.” Steve kept fighting against his restraints.

“Okay.” Tony tilted his head back. It looked like the aliens had chosen a forgotten alyssum for their hideout. Not Tony’s first choice for a hideout, but it did have the creep factor that Tony was sure all villains were looking for. It also had a lot of loose nails and junk that Tony could use to unlock the cuffs on his wrists and cut the bindings across his chest and thighs.

Tony just needed to find something in reach.

“So does someone want to explain to me why Tony was in the Iron Man suit?” Rhodey’s tone was scathing and full of accusation.

Rhodey glared at Tony.

“Can we talk about this later?” Tony twisted, still searching for something to get himself free with.

“You have a way for us to escape?”

“Not yet,” Tony answered.

“Then you can answer my goddamn questions while we think of something,” Rhodey said. “Why were you in the suit, Tony?”

“I would think that’s obvious.” Tony frowned as the taste of mint filled his mouth. He swirled his saliva in his mouth and tried to spit out the strong taste, but the mint flavor grew stronger.

Rhodey cursed. “Are you fucking kidding me, Tony? How long? How long have you been wearing the suit?”

Tony winced while also internally crowing in victory when he spot loose bolt along the bed’s metal barrier. The bolt would be no good for the cuffs, but the straps holding his chest and legs down were frayed and old. It would take a long time, but Tony could saw his way through one of them at least and that would give him more room to maneuver, which could give access to a better tool.

“Tony!”

“I’m a little busy trying to save our lives.” That may have been a bit melodramatic. Tony knew SHIELD had a tracker on Steve, and probably War Machine too—if not Rhodey personally. Tony also had a tracker on War Machine as well, and he trusted SHIELD enough to contact him for the armor’s location should SHIELD’s trackers fail. FRIDAY wouldn’t give out the information right away, but after twenty-four hours with no contact from either Tony or Rhodey, she would relay the location of the armor.

So at most, the three of them would be probably be held captive for a day. It was still far longer than Tony wanted, but these aliens… They looked intimidating but they were a whole lot less threatening than other people Tony knew. In fact, they seemed really new to the whole abduction and torture thing. Then again, perhaps Tony—

“Tony!” Rhodey huffed.

Tony blinked. Mint consumed his mouth which felt just a tad numb. His muscles were also looser, and his insides warm and pleasant. It was like he’d swallowed a container of toothpaste and was buzzed. “Yeah?”

Rhodey sighed, his temper subsiding. “How long?” He said more quietly.

“Since the beginning.”

Rhodey cussed.

“Maybe it’s better if—” Steve started, but Rhodey interrupted him.

“I want to say that I can’t believe you never told me, but that’d be a lie.” Rage entered Rhodey’s voice. “You always lie. If it isn’t about being Iron Man or your feelings then it is always something else. Why can’t you just be fucking honest with me for one god damn minute?”

Hurt slammed into Tony, but he refused to let Rhodey know how much his words had affected him. Instead he— “You’re right.” The words popped out of Tony’s mouth. Tony startled, but he couldn’t stop himself as he continued to speak. “I lie. Maybe not all the time, but a lot of the time. I can’t help it though, Rhodey. I don’t want you to hate me. You’re all–you were–all I have in this world. I’d have drunk myself stupid long ago and gone out like Howard did if it weren’t for you.”  

“You can’t help it? Bull shit! And saying that you do it because you don’t want to lose me? That hurts, Tony. You really have no faith in me? After all this time? After all of the shit you have pulled?”

“You two, I don’t think,” Steve once again tried to stop them, but just like before he was cut off, but this time it was by Tony.

“No,” Tony answered truthfully. Inside he screamed with panic. He wanted to stop himself from speaking, but it was occurring to him that whatever the aliens had put in his system must act as a some sort of truth serum, because he couldn’t hide anything from Rhodey now. “I don’t, because it doesn’t matter how good you are or how much you like me, I’m cursed, Rhodey.”

“Fuck you and your pity party, Tony,” Rhodey shouted, but his eyes were wide with panic. Just like Tony, he was saying things he didn’t want to say.

“I’m not lying or exaggerating. I am really cursed. By a witch named Wanda. It happened right around the time Howard died and Tiberius and I broke up. Remember the party that I told you everyone thought I’d done drugs at even though I swore I hadn’t.”

“Yes,” Rhodey said.

Tony’s heart was beating out his chest. He knew what he was going to say next, and he didn’t want to.

“That’s where I met Wanda.” Tony proceeded to tell the whole story from there.

When Tony finished, Rhodey scowled. “You realize how farfetched that sounds, right?”

“Loki,” Tony stated, and Rhodey shut up.

Tony sighed in relief. Tears of frustration had gathered in his eyes and he finally let them fall. He hated crying; he didn’t want to cry, but being forced to tell Rhodey about Wanda and the timer on his life as he knew it had left him raw.

“I don’t want to tell you anything else,” Tony said aloud and shuddered.

Rhodey cringed. “I—” He snapped his mouth shut, only for it to open again. “I want you to. I don’t want you to do it because we’ve been injected with some sort of truth serum, but I want to know, man. I want to know what else you’ve been keeping from me all these years. So much of it feels like a lie.”

Tony gasped, feeling the words swelling up inside him.

Steve cursed and fought against his restraints. “Don’t, Tony. Try to control it.”Steve grunted as he fought harder. “It’s like Rhodey said, we don’t want to hear your secrets because you’re being forced to.”

Tony nodded, but the words still slipped out. “I was raped.”

Steve froze and Rhodey stopped breathing.

Tony laughed bitterly as tears poured down his face. “It happened shortly after Wanda. That threesome video that got leaked… The first one, you know? I… I was drugged, and I was raped. I wanted to tell you. I did tell you, but you misunderstood and I never corrected you, because no one thought for a second that…” Tony’s chest burned as he was forced to continue speaking. “No one thought Tony Stark could or would be raped. I didn’t even really know at first; I was more panicked about having been drugged. It didn’t really hit me until later what that meant. And it kept happening.”

“I don’t want to hear this,” Rhodey said.

“It wasn’t always rape, but people assumed I was just okay with them getting handsy with me. They thought it was okay to kiss me or touch me whenever or however they wanted. It was the same with the drugs. I’d get invited to these parties and events and be surrounded by the drugs and alcohol. Sometimes I wouldn’t do anything, but people would find out that I’d been there and they’d just…assume I’d been taking the stuff. Sometimes I would experiment, but then it would painted as something so much bigger than I what I’d actually did. Like trying some pot would somehow become a story about me doing a bunch of cocaine.

“So I just gave up. I lived the rock ‘n roll lifestyle, and it was fun at times, but I also hated it, because even when I gave into the image people still just kept pursuing me—kept pushing their image of me onto me. They didn’t listen or care.”

Tony hands were trembling and his voice was unsteady. “I became so numb, Rhodey. I wasn’t even taking novocain yet it felt like it everyday until Afghanistan.” Tony tried to swallow down the next part of his confession, but just as before he couldn’t. “It’s why as horrible as that experience had been, a part of me is so thankful for it. I finally woke up and felt something again, and I finally understood how I managed to piss that Wanda chick off enough to curse me. I had been so ignorant, Rhodey. Iron Man—” Tony choked on his words. “Iron Man was my way of correcting the wrongs I had done all those years.”

Rhodey was silent.

“I’m sorry,” Tony said.

“Don’t say that,” Outrage lined Rhodey’s face. “You just told me some the most personal shit I’ve ever heard, and it was against your will. I–fuck. I don’t deserve to be your friend.”

Tony’s heart broke.

“I’m just like all those people who took advantage of you, who made assumptions, and were just assholes in general.”

Tony shook his head. “You were my best friend. You still are, if you want to be.”

“Of course I want to be, you dumbass. That doesn’t mean I deserve to be.”

Tony smiled. “Tesla, I hate this. Too many emotions. Too much honesty. I feel so naked and I still have my clothes on.”

“Ditto,” Rhodey said.

“So are we still friends?” Tony asked.

“Even if I don’t feel like I deserve to be, after this hell we better be, because it’s going to be difficult looking out for you and making up for all those years if we’re not.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I’m going to.”

Heat pooled in Tony’s belly and a gentle breeze picked up.

Tony frowned. “Is that coming from a vent?”

The heat grew and spread upwards through Tony.

The wind picked up strength, tugging on Tony’s clothes.

“I don’t think so,” Steve hollered as the wind grew stronger.

The heat reached Tony’s chest and Tony hissed as the warmth turned blistering.

“Tony! What’s wrong? Tony!” Rhodey shouted, his voice fighting against the wind.

Tony screwed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. He shook as pain wracked his body.

Eventually the wind died down, his body cooled, and the ache subsided.

Tony breathed deep.

“Oh thank god,” Rhodey said. “I thought you were going to die.”

The door to room opened and the triclops alien who had inject Tony entered the room.

“You missed the show,” Tony said.

The triclops fiddled with something that looked like a wristwatch. The triclops spoke, and a computerized voice spoke in English. “Where are our friends?”

“You need to be more specific,” Tony said. “Also, hello? Did you really not just see what happened in here?”

The alien looked around the room then sneered. “We don’t care if you take after the elves and use magic. We want our friends back. They came to this planet to rest and receive libations before continuing their journey to the most epic of concerts.”

Tony blinked. He turned to Rhodey and shared a look.

“Concerts?” Steve repeated.

The alien nodded. “Yes, it is supposed to be the most amazing concert in the universe, featuring the best musicians around.”

“How old are your friends?” Tony asked.

The alien looked furious.

“We need to know,” Steve said. “How else will we know if we know where your friends are?”

The alien scoffed. “I doubt you get many visitors on your backwater planet. You know who my friends are.” The alien’s three eyes narrowed at Steve. “You are not affected. You can still lie.”

Steve didn’t respond.

The alien made a noise of frustration and whirled on Tony. “Tell me where my friends are.”

Tony thought back to the aliens he and the rest of the Avengers had fought not that long ago. The ones that supposedly had gone to a bar to get some drinks. “I don’t personally know where they are, but in a few hours some of our friends are going to show up here. The ones in black suits will probably know where your friends are being kept.” Tony paused, trying to think if there was anything left to say. “Yeah, that’s it. We can’t help you out anymore than that. Well, except give you a warning. Our friends are professional fighters. You got the jump on us earlier, so that’s how you caught us three, but our friends are going to kick your ass, so you might want to act nice around them. They’ll be a lot more willing to help if you don’t come off as evil.”

The alien nodded with a snort. It turned and marched out of the room.

“Could you do something about the mint taste in my mouth?” Tony shouted after the alien.

* * *

“Tony Stark is Iron Man.” Clint gaped at Tony.

Tony shifted uncomfortably and hugged his shock blanket around him tighter. “Mind saying that louder?” Tony grumbled.

Tony was under no delusions that all of the SHIELD agents who had come to rescue Steve, Rhodey, and Iron Man hadn’t made the connection that the Iron Man suit was present and that there was no one other than Tony around who could have been inside it when captured. The Agents knew, which meant Fury either knew or was about to.

Rhodey shifted so he stood closer to Tony, staring down Sam, Clint, and Natasha, all of whom were showing signs of shock and surprise at the true identity of Iron Man.

Steve was keeping suspiciously quiet and staying off to the side.

“Did you know about this?” Sam asked Steve.

“Yes,” Steve answered straight faced. “And before you saying anything, it wasn’t my secret to tell, which is why I never told any of you.”

Natasha’s lips pursed. She wasn’t happy, but she didn’t argue with Steve.

Clint’s head swiveled between Tony and Steve, his mouth still hanging open in surprise.

“Are you trying to catch flies?” Tony asked.

Clint snapped his mouth shut, only to open it again to talk. “You should have told us.” Clint clapped Tony on the shoulder. “Jeez, do you know how much my heart broke when I thought the CaptainIron ship had sank to be replaced with StarkSpangled? Also, hello! I’ve been calling you an asshole this whole time, which you only partially deserve.” Clint grinned. “You’re not the heartless asshole archetype, but that asshole with a heart of gold archetype. One of those lone gunslinger types of heroes. If you had told me sooner, then I could have joined Steve in defending your honor.”

Tony didn’t know what to say. “You’re fucking with me, aren’t you?”

Clint’s grin grew. “Speaking of fucking, so you and Steve—”

“And that’s my queue to step in.” Sam covered Clint’s mouth with his hand. “Sorry about that. Clint’s just friendly, but I guess you already know that.” Sam eyed Tony.

Tony straightened. “Are we going to have a problem?”

Sam cocked his head, mulling over his answer then smiling. “Don’t expect us to be besties right away, but give it some time and I might offer to buy you a drink. Not that you need me to.”

Tony nodded. He looked to Natasha.

“This explains a few things,” Natasha said. She pivoted and walked off to join the agents who were currently having a discussion with Tony’s captors.

Tony shook his head. “College kids. Always coming into town and ruining everything,” Tony joked. “A concert? Really?”

“Guess there are some good things out there in the universe,” Steve said. “Not all doom and gloom.”

Steve’s comment was said offhandedly, but it instantly made Tony think back on Ultron and the conversation he’d had with Steve.

Guilt churned in Tony’s stomach. He’d made a lot of progress with Ultron. In a few more weeks, he could probably have had the program running or at least a beta version.

With that knowledge, Tony withdrew into himself. He put on a smiling and charming facade for anyone who talked to him. When Rhodey pulled him aside to talk, relief rushed through him.

That feeling was short lived though when Rhodey asked Tony if he could see the tattoo.

“I understand if you don’t want to show me, but I’m still wrapping my head around the curse, and it would just help if I could see the tattoo for myself.”

Tony nodded. He could understand that. He wasn’t thrilled with showing the tattoo to Rhodey, but he could do it if it helped his best friend come to terms with Tony’s curse faster.

Tony double-checked to make sure no one was watching them and lifted his shirt.

Rhodey frowned. “I don’t see anything.”

Tony blinked. “You can’t miss it. It’s…” Words escaped Tony when he looked down at his side.

There were no roses—no tattoo, just perfect skin.

Tony thought back to the wind and the heat that had swept his body hours ago.

Tony collapsed to his knees.

Rhodey was right there by his side, asking him if he was okay.

Tony couldn’t believe it.

The curse… it was broken.


	10. Chapter 10

Tony couldn’t believe it. He’d been cursed for so long now it felt like a dream not be any more.

And it was all thanks to some concert-going aliens, their truth serum, and for Rhodey.

The only reason Tony hadn’t pounced on Rhodey and made out with him (and offered Rhodey his babies) was because he had a boyfriend.

Or Tony hoped so at least.

Steve was currently seated next to Tony in the backseat of Tony’s car (being driven by Happy, who was still trying to get over his excitement about driving the Steve Rogers around), and Steve was not talking. Normally, Tony would have fixed that by filling the silence, but he was a little preoccupied with thoughts of his own. He’d only just managed to get himself together long enough to ask Steve to come home with him. He wanted to share the news with Steve without prying eyes or ears.

Tony looked at the partition, double checking that the window was up.

Tony scooted closer to Steve. His knee brushed Steve’s.

“Steve.”

Tony had barely whispered the name, but Steve jerked out his thoughts nonetheless. He blinked at Tony as he rejoined the world.

“Tony,” Steve said, grim-faced.

Tony’s chest ached. “Did I do something wrong?”

Steve straightened. “God no, Tony. Tony… I…” Steve slumped in his seat and rubbed the back of his neck. He hung his head and grimaced. “I’m sorry, Tony. Sorry that I’ve been distant the last few hours, but I’m just…” Steve swallowed. “I’m really sorry that I hadn’t been able to break free in time to stop you from saying all that.”

Steve gripped his knees, his knuckles going white. “That stuff you said was so personal, and you shouldn’t have been forced to say it. If I had gotten free, I could have at least covered you mouth or done something to keep you from revealing all of that to Rhodey… and me.”

Tony sighed in relief. “So you’re not mad that I didn’t tell you about the,” Tony glanced at the window again, “sex, drugs, and all that stuff?”

Steve lifted his head, his blue eyes blazing with rage. “I am mad, but not at you. I’m mad at all of those people who took advantage of you, of all the ones who spread lies and made assumptions, and I’m furious with Wanda, because her curse set up everything that happened to you.”

“Hey, hey,” Tony patted Steve on the back. “Remember, I’m not that squeaky clean. I did do some of that stuff of my own volition.”

“And you also did it because you felt like it made no difference whether you did or didn’t do it, and that’s because of the curse,” Steve insisted.

Tony shrugged. “I still did it. I was the one who chose to give up.”

Tony frowned, his thoughts once again going back to Ultron and what Steve had said about the program.

“I’m just glad all that stuff didn’t freak you out.” Tony made himself chuckle, so as to keep the atmosphere light. “I would have hated for my past to scare you off since I’ve grown quite fond of you.”

“Fond” was an understatement.

He loved Steve. Steve, who had been the only person to not have known Tony pre-curse and had taken the time to get to know him–to like Tony.

Steve who was brave, and despite what it would do to his image, had kissed Tony in public. Steve who had intimidated a barista just because she’d purposefully burned Tony’s coffee. Steve who had decided to help a man who was known to be self-centered and cold-hearted just because it was the right thing to do.

Tony loved Steve, there was no changing that.

“Tony.” Steve scooted across the seat and pulled Tony for an embrace. He kissed Tony chastely, but Tony could still feel the passion and desperation behind the kiss. “I know you didn’t believe me when I first said it, and I don’t blame you, but I love you.” Steve hugged Tony tight. “I really do.”

For the second time that day, Tony felt like he was in a dream. “Steven Grant Rogers, I swear on all that is good in this world that if you are fucking with me, I will put on my Iron Man armor right now and kick your ass across the globe.”

Steve laughed and kissed Tony on the forehead. “Promise?”

“Yeah.” Tony smiled and reached for the hem of his shirt. “Oh, and you shouldn’t feel too bad about being unable to stop me from spilling my guts on the floor.” Tony lifted his shirt to show off his no longer marked side.

Tony’s smile grew at the widening of Steve’s eyes. “Looks like because I’d been lying all those years no one ever saw the real me, not even Rhodey. I never let them.”

Steve touched Tony’s side reverently.

Tony shrugged and let go of his shirt. “I didn’t want anyone to think I was weak, or know how helpless I had felt.” Tony shook his head. “Damn it, if I’d only known, I could have been curse-free years ago.”

Even with Tony’s shirt lowered, Steve was prodding at Tony’s side. “It really is gone.”

Tony smiled. “Not sure if it was you or Rhodey who saved me, maybe both, but thanks.” Tony kissed Steve on the lips. “And I love you too.”

One second Steve was looking at Tony in awe, and the next he was tackling Tony across the backseat and smothering him with kisses.

Tony flung his arms around Steve and laughed.

Finally, his future was his own again.


	11. Epilogue

Tony looked at the holo screens in his lab, studying Ultron’s coding.

The need to complete it was not nearly as strong as it once had been. He still believed that the Earth needed to prepare its defenses for when a real alien threat came again, but he could see more clearly Steve’s point.

Ultron was a double-edge sword. In a perfect world Ultron could be their protector, but they didn’t live in a perfect world. The universe was vast and while Tony might be able to outsmart and out-program many on Earth, a more technologically advanced species might see his programming the same way he sees Hammer’s. Plus, people with special abilities were popping up across the globe. All it would take is a technopath to turn Ultron against them all.

Tony touched Ultron’s programming and shifted it onto the USB he’d inserted into the computer.

Tony removed the USB. “All traces gone from the server, JARVIS?”

“It is as if Ultron never existed,” JARVIS responded.

Tony nodded. He marched over to one a wall a removed one of his ACDC posters to reveal a safe. He’s find a more secure location for the USB later, but this would do for know. Tony hide the USB inside the safe, locked it up, then hung the poster back in place.

Maybe one day he’d need Ultron (a day he dreaded). For now though, he wanted to trust Steve and his teammates instead of cave into fear.

Tony smiled and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed Steve as he ventured out of his lab and into the elevator.

“Hey, Tony,” the smile could be heard in Steve’s voice. “I was about to call. Everyone is already here. What’s taking so long?”

“Just had to tidy up some loose ends.” Tony punched the button for the bottom floor. The elevator lowered. “Order me a drink, please? You know I have no patience.”

“Sure.” The elevator stopped and opened at Steve’s answer. “Any requests?”

“Surprise me.” Tony stepped out and headed for the exit. “Be there in fifteen.”

“All right. Love you.”

Tony smiled. He pushed past the doors and entered the outside world. “Love you too.”  


End file.
